life'sjourneywithasmile: Every Year Can - Relationships

Merry Christmas!!

May everyone have a wonderful day filled love, light and laughter surrounded by loved ones (and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I still hope that today brings you that).?

I figured in the spirit of today, that in my reflections that today would talk about the relationships in my life and how they changed over 2012. The most special relationship is being saved for a different day.

Today is about my friends and family.

When I think about my friends and family, there is only one word that comes to mind and that is blessed.

This year has been about growth in the relationships in my life.

It has also been a point of strain for me, and one of the biggest struggles this year. ?When Joel and I started dating it brought a lot of opinions, a lot of strain, a lot of stress, a lot of judgment and a lot of just people mess.

It made me question a lot, but it also showed me a lot about the people in my life.?Friendships ended, new friends entered my life and other relationships went through the ringer.?My family shined through for me, and this year has been such an amazing growth in that category for me.

I decided this spring that I would pack up my life for the summer and move home to get away from the city and have fun with my friends. I quickly realized that home was where I was meant to be and made a strong decision to end one chapter of my life and return home.

My parents opened their home to me again and I moved back. This has been nothing short of amazing for me. To be an active member of my family again, to spend time with relatives I'm close with regularly, to know what's going on, and to be a part of a unit again is so heartwarming.

I am so truly blessed and endlessly grateful for the opportunity to move home again. A huge amount of that gratitude belongs to my amazing parents. Not only are they the most incredible and supportive parents, they're also my friends whom I genuinely enjoy spending my time with.

I have learned how to be a friend ?in a different way this year. I moved away from one best friend, who has become a distanced friendship for the first time ever. It's a challenge but also something we push through - when we are together time hasn't passed. The other friendship was a source of the strain and stress this summer, but also the friendship that was a part of a life transforming trip to Europe and the reason I met the man of my dreams. We're working on rebuilding what was lost... and if that's not growth I don't know what is.

When it comes to relationships in life, I can only think that it's what life is about. What is life if it is not shared? I think about this year and have a warm heart and am endlessly grateful for the amazing multitude of people that are in my life, family, old friends and new.

I am excited to continue to rebuild my roots back home, with all of the amazing relationships I have here in the year to come.?

Source: http://www.lifesjourneywithasmile.com/2012/12/every-year-can-relationships.html

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