I got up this morning hoping to greet the first sunrise of the new year. But nature had other plans and I was met with a cold drizzling rain. I went for a walk anyway. On a whim I decided to walk down a road that I haven't been on before, and discovered that is is more picturesque than my regular route with a small abandoned cemetery by the side of the road, several old barns, two small streams, and a farm that still has cows in the pasture.
And the nice part is that the road loops back around onto the road the we live on.
Two different views of one of the old barns.
I don't have many goals for the new year beyond surviving the learning curve of my new job. If I can get through the winter with finishing my charting on time and not accidentally driving off a bridge on my way home in the dark and sleeting rain, occasionally cooking real food and vacuuming the house, I will call it good. But if there is one this I'd like to work on a bit this year, it is to be slightly more adventurous. Even if it as simple as taking a different road on my walk.
I am quite shy and not an adventurous person by nature and am realizing that because of that life can pass me by. I would hate to come to the end of my life and all I have to show for it is that I went to work each day and did a bit of house work.
What about you? Any goals for 2012?
I love the barns. Old cemeteries are so wonderful! It sounds like a perfectly charming new walk. It sounds like your new year's goal has already been a good thing.
ReplyDeleteTwo and a half years and that barn is within walking distance of your house? Girl you have to get more adventure in your life and get out there, take another route next and look for more old barns, houses and whatever else is around the next turn. The dust will still be there when you get back, the vacuum cleaner will be waiting at your beck and call. Take time to enjoy the beauty and traquility of old barns and houses, don't let life pass you by.
ReplyDeleteRobert Burns wrote about two roads in his poem The Road Not Taken, with the final lines being:
ReplyDeleteTwo roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Yes dust will always be there. :-) Please take the road less traveled more often and show us where you have been.
The vacuuming resolve is actually for my mental health, not because I feel obligated to do it. (just as my husband--come spring and gardening season I don't clean the house for weeks at a time!) But I have found that one of the ways that is helpful for me to deal with stress is having a resonably orderly house. With the start of this new job there have been more evenings than not when I've felt like bashing my head into wall when I got home just to relieve the stress. Better to pick up the vacuum and do something productive. :) But yeah, you are right, though I take a walk almost every day, I really need to see what else is in the other direction!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great barn... you are lucky to live in (what appears to be) a rural area where you can take these wonderful photos. Your photo "Last Sky of 2011" is incredible!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, dramatic buildings and sky. What a brilliant start to 2012.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lesson (for me, at least) in this post about taking a new route that leads to wonderous discoveries but still brings you safely home and I think it will help me with goal-setting for 2012. I, too, need to be more adventurous.
I do hope your new job becomes less stressful as you ascend the learning curve. And I totally understand about house-cleaning. It helps me unwind & gives me a sense of order and control, and is as therapeutic as it is mundane.
Happy New Year, Kateri!
Teresa, I love old cemeteries, too. There are many of them in the countryside here. I do have a hard time taking photos of old gravestones that I feel end up being blog worthy though. Now that I know that we have a cemetery so close, I will be getting more practice though!
ReplyDeleteSpare Parts, thank you! Yes, I feel very blessed to live out in the country. We moved here two and half years ago. Old barns galore in this area.
Elaine, thank you. The stress from my new job should get better. There are some unique curcumstances right now that are contributing to it, one of which is the craziness that always comes with the holidays both at work and at home (not the best time to start a new nursing job or probably any job). It will get better as I get more comfortable with the company's way of charting, and as their different rules become second nature. I'm having to unlearn some things from my old job and and learn the new ways of the new place. Even though it is st home care, some of the rules are quite different. Putting order into my house in times like this is calming and theraputic like you said.
I do love a good old barn, and this one is a beauty. Glad you tried a new road.
ReplyDeleteMy goals?
I am trying to get things organized for our retirement move to the southwest.
Besides that,
I want to spend more time watching the sky, and dreaming!!
Great old barn and beautiful wintery sky!!
ReplyDeleteI applaud your new goal! I find it very easy to get myself into a rut and have to work on doing things differently. I'm very comfortable with routine! LOL!!
Sandy, dreaming and watching the sky is always good! I need to do more of that myself. Getting ready for a move is a lot of work--my best wishes that all goes well for you as you get ready for the move.
ReplyDeleteCandy, one thing that is both good and bad about my job is that it hard to get into a routine. Though it is still easy to get into a rut. Got to fight against the rut. :)
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