It is so hard to believe that another new year is already upon us! 2012 really flew by. As I have reflected back on the last year, I can't help but be grateful for everything that happened to me this past year. I began the year as a new college graduate, really unsure of what I wanted to do with my life. After months of job hunting, praying, more job hunting, and more praying, I followed the promptings of the Holy Ghost and moved to Virginia. I left my family, a ward that I loved, friends, and the city that I had grown up in to go to a place where I had only been once before, where I had no job, and where the only people I knew were the family I was going to live with. Was it scary? Yes, but it also excited me and I was looking forward to having some new adventures.
I moved in with my sister and her family and after getting settled in here, started looking for my "dream job". I spent a month and a half job hunting with no success. I began to question why I felt so strongly about moving here and wondered if it was really where I was supposed to be. I wondered if I should just get a job in retail like I'd been doing before I made the move, but something kept me from even doing that. I wanted to be able to focus my time on looking for a job, so that is what I did. About a month and a half after I moved here, I found out why I had felt such an urge and desire to be in Virginia. My brother in law was in a near fatal accident and our lives were completely changed. My sister spent her days at the hospital, and I spent mine at home, being caretaker to my niece, unpacking(we had moved into a new place literally two days before his accident), cleaning, cooking, taking calls from concerned friends and ward members, and mostly just trying my hardest to make life as normal as possible for all of us when it was far from being that. My brother in laws condition was constantly changing, and taking care of everything at home was the one thing I felt like I could control. I haven't really talked about what happened with anyone outside of my family and closest friends, and it feels good to write a little about it here on my blog.
After about a week of trying to keep everything together, I fell apart. My sister was at the hospital and my niece was playing at a friends house so I was home alone. I spent the day trying to do laundry and other housework to keep my mind occupied, but spent a lot of the day crying. Crying for my brother in law(who was at that point not expected to survive). Crying for my sister and niece. And crying for myself. When I finally felt like I was done crying, I called my parents, and the waterworks immediately started again. I told them that I couldn't handle things on my own anymore. My mom asked me what I needed, and all I could say was, "you." They had already been talking about my mom coming out, so that made their decision and she flew in a few days later. It was so nice to have her here. We took turns going to the hospital with my sister and staying home to take care of my niece and the house. We also took the ocassional day off to just have some fun going shopping or sightseeing in DC to get our minds off of everything.
My brother in law slowly recoverd and after being in the hospital for a month, he was released and got to come home. My mom stayed with us for a few days after he got home to help us get him settled in, then she flew back to Utah. Things slowly returned to normal in the house and a couple of months after the accident, I finally got a job. Not my dream job by any means, but a job and I have been so grateful to be working.
Wow, this is turning into a novel. To sum it all up, there were some big things that happened in 2012. Some good, some not so good, but I am grateful for all that I learned during the year. I am excited to see what changes 2013 will bring to my life. Bring it!
