In Retrospect

My parents gave me a new planner for Christmas. Don't worry, I asked for one. It's red and says 2014 on it in big block letters and smells like a used-bookstore. I love it. It's so cool. It even has a place on each day where you can make a list of things that are top priority to you (which, judging by my recent entries, happens to be everything). So that even though my life might actually be all over the place, I feel more organized. 

That's important. Don't discount those feelings.

In December, I had come to the end of one planner, and it startled me. I usually look at a year based on school terms. You know, like 2011-2012, or that one time in the second half of seventh grade. It's rare for me to think of a year as a cohesive thing. 2013. 

It's caused me to take a look back over this year and recount many things-people, memories, lessons learned, books read, etc. I realized that 2013 has not been uneventful.

So, for the sake of brevity, I'm presenting a list below of my favorite memories from 2013 (going in chronological order...backwards):

1. Christmas and playing board games with my team. We crazy. I love them.  

"Girl, look at me. Look at me. Are we Dauntless?!?" -Logan

2. Going to the beach with Momma Hoskins, Ashlee and Logan. Just another reason I love living in the Caribbean. 

3. The Vida Estudiantil Christmas Dinner. "Ain't no party like a Dominican party cuz a Dominican party don't stop." Okay, lame, yes, I know. But also kind of catchy. Please don't judge me. 

4. Discipleship meetings with students all throughout November. That month may have been a blur, but I got to see some fruitful beginnings in students' lives. 

5. There was a day that our team went to the pool and played sharks and minnows for like 2 hours. Such a blast. I also never became a shark. Thank you, Swim Team.

6. August 19th, 2013. The date of my arrival back to Santo Domingo. I couldn't stop smiling. It's also the birthday of my sweet friend Starliner. I love her. 

7. Spending six weeks this summer with family and friends in Arkansas. I particularly remember savoring my morning walks around Lake Fayetteville and going to Mojito's with my parents. 

8. Debrief conference in La Romana. David, Shannon, Berkeley and I hopped on this sea catamaran and sailed around for a bit until a storm rolled in. Then, we sailed to shore like our lives depended on it. We may or may not have sung the music from Pirates of the Caribbean. I may or may not have screamed when I thought I saw a shark. 

9. The Vida Estudiantil Campamento. "Ain't no party like a Vida party..." You know the rest.

10. One moment at UASD when I initiated a conversation with a student and two of the girls in my discipleship group (Starliner and Irina) jumped right in and started sharing the Gospel. The whole "go and make disciples" of the Great Commission in action. So cool.

11. Reading The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. I couldn't put the book down.

12. The crazy nights spent with Shannon and Berkeley-making music videos, going to Chili's, watching The Bachelor, watching Sherlock, eating cookie dough, painting our toenails, re-painting our toenails. 

13. When Mother Mary came to visit. 

Obviously, that's not all. Who can forget all the Team Dinners or inside jokes or team creative dates or awkward cultural moments of the past year? And, don't even get me started on the ups and downs inside my prayer journal. But, inevitably, I look back at the year, and I see more blessings and growth than not, and that my friends, is what makes a year very very good :)

Cheers to 2013! 

xoxo

kme