What Does New Year's Mean to You?

Hi everyone! Jane here.  I just wanted to drop in and see how your 2014s are going so far.

I've personally had so much change in the past several months that I haven't made any resolutions.  Just keeping up with life is all that I can do.  However, I know that many of you are established in a line of work and/or consistently live at the same address and/or maybe even have a consistent relationship with someone in your lives, so I have to ask the question: What do you feel needs to change about life? And what are you happy with just the way it is?

Some of my single friends do battle with these questions.  I know the single life well myself, actually.  Years of experience with that. It seems like you have to walk the line between, "I like my life the way it is, thank you very much," and "Of course I'd like to welcome a new special someone in my life, provided that person is wonderful."  I just had someone tell me in the same conversation that 1) she was absolutely NOT going online to date (which I totally understand, but it makes me wonder how she will meet people which brings me to the next point) and 2) she is considering changing careers so that her path will cross with people who fit the bill of the types of people she would like to meet. So it seems that some (and I include myself in this number... Prince Charming had to literally sweep me off my feet to get me to change my life) are waiting for that big neon sign from the Universe to proceed, or doing a bit of passive looking for love.

There is the flip side to this of course, with the miserable married people and the angry people still in relationships with people they don't actually even like, and so forth.  Which ones will make a change in 2014? Who will seek counseling and other help? Who will get to the core of the issues that need to be seen, felt, and understood?

There are others who avoid dating and marriage at all costs, too.  I respect that but I don't understand it. (I hope I don't come across as pushy when I ask these people if they're dipping their toes in the dating pools...)

But aside from single/married/divorced status, there are a lot of things that could change.  Your health, your income, your stress level, how you make your living, where you live, how you live, what you drive (if you drive), whom you spend your time with, what you do, and so forth.

I've joined a few new groups in Meetup.com to see if I can expand my horizons.  My future husband has also introduced some interesting pastimes and possible new hobbies into my life.  I feel blessed and fortunate to have so many new things on my radar, but at the same time I'm keeping all those things that worked about my life before.  Just like the girl scout saying, Make new friends but keep the old; One is silver and the other's gold.  Such can be said for all the "stuff" of life.

Here's wishing you a 2014 full of all the "stuff" you like,

Yours truly,

Jane Q. Phoenix