Photos from the past

I know it may seem a few weeks too late to do the whole "looking back at 2010" thing, but I guess better late than never?! Also, I think that my reflections are more about the past rather than just this past year. I don't really make new years resolutions, but I think its important to reflect on the previous year and then look ahead and make goals and dreams for the new one. 2010 brought alot of changes and challenges into my life. I don't know if I can say that its been the hardest year that I ever had, but it was definitely a tough one. Not to sound negative or all gloom-and-doom, because there were many beautiful and wonderful things about it as well.

Anyway, I don't want this post to be about all the bad things about last year, because I think in order to move forward its important not to dwell. All this is to say that I've been thinking alot about family and growing up and relationships. Over Christmas my mom discovered two boxes of old photographs of my Grandmother's. Most of them we had never even seen before, because she had them hidden away until she moved into her retirement home. There were pictures of her and my Grandfather in their younger days, ones of my mom and her siblings, and many of me and my sister and our cousins. My sister was sick the day we pulled them all out, so I went and sat with her on her bad and we went through the photos together. It made me feel like a kid again. We laughed at the ridiculous ones, and picked out our favourites. With everything that my family has been through this past year, it was almost surreal to look at how things had once been, and then think about how things have changed so much. But it was no longer painful to think about, and that makes me feel like I've come a long way.

With all this reflection, I'm excited about what this year, 2011, has in store. I feel like a stronger and more resilient person, and ready to take on the world. I went back to school into a graduate program in September, and in one of our classes we have been talking about measureable goals for this year ahead. I think this is really fitting for me right now. I finish school in August and will have many decisions to make, but they are all in my hands. I've been thinking alot about my goals and dreams for this new year, and when I have these more solidified I will make a post about them on here, so all my readers can keep me accountable ;)
It really is exciting, feeling like you're getting a new and fresh start. A tad scary, but exciting none-the-less.

I want to share with you some of my favourites of the photos that we pulled out that day. Just a warning, I took photos of the pictures using my phone, so I appologize for the poor quality. Enjoy!

Handsome Grandpa Sansom

Another of my Grandpa

My nana

Nana and Grandpa

My mom in the 70's

Mom, me, my older sister, and my dad