Resolutions

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... this is the year

A year we have been looking forward to with anticipation and excitement. We have so much coming up this year to be thankful for!

Graduation

Nearly three years ago we moved to Florida from our home state of Minnesota (Skol Vikings!) for Matt to pursue his Doctorate in Physical Therapy at University of Miami. We wouldn't change the experience for the world as we have learned and grown so much along the way! However, it has been a long and challenging road. We are so excited for the grand finale of this amazing journey. On May 10th, Matt will officially graduate with his Doctorate in Physical Therapy!

So here we are, our entire relationship existing while at least one of us has been in school. Six beautiful years of a bookshelf dedicated to massive medical textbooks and late nights and weekends of studying. School was where we met each other, dated, got married, had our first apartment, and our second apartment... haha! It was how we found the courage to move away, find our home with each other, travel, and pursue our dreams. As excited as we are for this next season, we cannot help but look back with gratitude for all these years have given us.

Matt has begun to study for boards and hopes to take them sometime this spring! The last leap in his PT school journey!

Finding Home

Not surprisingly, graduation is on the top of our excitement list for 2018, but there are plenty more things that we are looking forward to! One of these is hopefully moving to a new city. We LOVE Miami, our church, and obviously the weather. However, both of us have felt our heart leading us out of South Florida and onto a new journey. We have not officially decided on where we are moving as many factors stand in the way of the dream of settling down in a new city. Our hearts and plans are open to God's leading, and we're excited to see where he will take us!

One of the biggest factors with moving out of Miami is both of us finding jobs. With my current travel nursing career, it really opens up opportunity for traveling while we search for jobs and Matt finishes up his licensing process. Until we finalize some things, we'll be keeping our home in Miami and waiting for the Lord's leading.

A Building Year

Lots of people come up with a word or theme for a new year, and we really never settled on a foundational phrase or word for 2018 (suggestions? haha). We do, however, know that this year will be a building year. We have many transitions ahead, and those will bring challenges along the way. For the first 3 - 5 months, we will be working through the difficulty of a long distance marriage, with Matt on clinical and myself working on assignment nearly 2000 miles away. We have chosen to sacrifice things like living everyday life together because we truly see something amazing coming in 2018.

It is a year of potential and of new beginnings and we have seen God reveal this to us through confirmation and peace about our decision to live in different states. We are so blessed for a schedule that has already allowed me to make a trip to Florida and visit Matt. In just the few weeks we have been apart, we have gained so much respect for the men and women in our Military and the sacrifices they make being away from their spouses and children. It is unbelievable the amount of strength and dedication distance takes to conquer.

Our hope for this year is to finally settle down a bit, to find stability and routine. Last year we spent four months away from our home in Miami, losing sense of what it feels like to have a home base. In 2018, we feel ready to have that again. We are ready to find jobs and discover life outside of grad school. It will be a building year - for our future, our family, our careers, and ourselves.

Resolutions

So... the part you have all been waiting for.

What would a New Year's post be without a list of resolutions. But honestly, I have a bit of a problem with the term.

 res·o·lu·tion

ˌrezəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/

noun

a firm decision to do or not to do something.

The definition of this word makes me understand why so many people just give up when they slip up on their resolutions... I mean, by definition, you either DO or DON'T change your ways. I honestly don't believe in resolving because we all mess up and it is difficult to jump back on board after you miss a day at the gym or eat a donut one morning.

Instead, I like to refer to my "resolutions" as goals for the year.

goal

ɡōl

noun

the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.

The word "goal" seems so much more forgiving to me. Goals allow you to constantly adjust the path you take to develop yourself toward a result.  They are set forth by an ambition and based entirely on effort to achieve a desired result.  However, unlike the "make or break" nature of a resolution, a goal offers forgiveness along the path to success. A goal allows us to take pace when changing your ways is challenging without losing sight of the end result. If we fail, we can keep pressing on because practice is a part of making your result a reality.

Resolutions/goals for 2018

- Positivity during time of long distance

- Graduate PT school and pass boards

- Land new jobs

- Make a cookbook of favorite recipes

- Visit 3 new National Parks

- Get planted in a new city and find a home church

- Work out and continue to develop fitness routine

- Develop hobbies (writing, photography, fitness, cooking, hiking, camping)

- Travel to another country

We hope your 2018 is filled with love and life and tons of adventure! Keep up with us on Instagram @oceansandevergreens