Goodbye, 2010

[ladysprite]

So long, 2010. You've been a mixed bag, start to finish.

I've never been a big fan of making resolutions; in general, I just do my best to grow and learn as time moves forward. But I do like to do my best to look back and acknowledge everything that I've learned over the past year - it's a tradition I picked up from a dear, old friend, and one of my favorites.

So, what have I learned from 2010?

I learned that patience is generally more useful than panic.
I learned how to make soap.
I learned that I have 187 cookbooks, and that most of them are more useful than I had thought.
I learned how to make ravioli.
I learned that topical epinephrine will stop uncontrollable bleeding.
I learned a lot about muscular dystrophy in Labrador Retrievers.
I learned that sting rays are friendly, curious, and feel a lot like wet leather.
I learned that there are things about myself that I can't change on my own - but that I can, with help.
I learned that there's a lot more to taking care of myself than eating right and exercising, and that I'm not as good at those other things as I'd like to be.
I learned what sweetbreads taste like, and that vanilla and salmon make a better blend than I had thought.
I learned the bare-beginner basics of how to spin poi.
I learned that the SCA has a better sense of humor than I had feared, and that if I ask half a dozen of my friends to get up in public and dance the Thriller dance, they will leap at the chance.
I learned that my friends - and people in general - can be breathtakingly, heartbreakingly, world-changingly generous if given the chance.
I learned that 60 miles is not too far to walk.
I learned that tpau and I make a killer team in just about any setting.
I learned that, no matter what shape you're in, dehydration can still kick your butt.
I learned how to properly use henna, and that it makes at least as good a hair coloring agent as the chemical dyes I've been using, if not better.
I learned that hang-gliding is quite possibly the most amazing experience in the world.
I learned that my friends are far too fragile.
I learned what it feels like to lose a father figure, and to watch my husband hurt more than I know how to heal.
I learned what it feels like to go to a (semi)-political rally, and that seeing that many people in one place, being cheerful and polite to one another, is pretty mind-bendingly cool.
I learned that sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to end a toxic relationship, no matter how scary it may be to do so.
I learned that keeping warm makes a huge difference in my frame of mind.
I learned that what I do is appreciated much more by other people than I had thought, in a lot of different settings.
I learned that I have enough friends to fill my little house to bursting at a holiday dinner, and that that feels pretty darn awesome.

When I look back, it's a little shocking to me to realize just how much I did this year - it didn't feel like a lot at the time. And while I'm a little afraid, when I think of it and wonder how I'm going to make next year measure up, it's also kind of amazing to think that I - *me* - I did all of this. And that I've already got plans in the works for next year, and that if past experience is any reminder, it'll be even bigger and more full than this one.

So, what did you learn from 2010?