Happy New Year!

by Bonnie Harris

Happy New Year! The first of the year always brings me to a reflexive state. How did I do on my goals last year? Where do I need to improve? What should be my new goals? Are they realistic and achievable? Where do I go from here? So I'm back to square one again.

Last year was full of unexpected surprises for me. This year will hopefully be a little more predictable, ha-ha-ha. That's what I get for wanting to be in control of my life, unexpected surprises. But isn't that what makes life fun?

Anyway, since this is my first post as part of the ANWA Founder & Friends group I figured I should start with a little about me. This is the most recent picture I have of myself and my wonderful husband. Of course since it was taken, we were blessed with the birth of our first child, Reed. That was the biggest change that happened last year. Now it's figuring out how to make life work with one more person in it. :) That being said, here's my life in a nutshell.

Sometimes I think I might be a cat, except I don't die after each life. They only add to each other. In my first life I earned a Master Degree in Cello Performance from the University of Utah. My Bachelor Degree is in the same area from Arizona State University. I love my cello, a.k.a. Clyde and miss practicing the 8 to 10 hours a day I did during school. Alas, life moves on though and other things begin to take precedence. During this life I also began teaching cello privately from my home, which I am currently doing as well as my studios in Chandler and Tempe.

My second life began when I did a post-bach and got my teaching certificate in Elementary Education while working at the University of Institute of Religion at the U of U. What a great experience that was. It gave me a different viewpoint on the church education system and I made countless friends.

Life number three is a wife. I came home (back to AZ) to student teach with plans to return to Utah. Well . . . I got distracted on the way and ended up married instead.

Four--I taught kindergarten for three years in the Higley Unified School District and Mesa Public Schools. I am no longer teaching due to what the AZ government is doing to the education system. (I'm sure I'll be saying more about that later.) However, I should say that I do substitute for MPS and for GPS (Gilbert Public Schools) to help out my parents who are teachers in both districts.

My fifth life is a writer. I have complete three books (two in a trilogy and one by itself) and am working on a forth. No, they are not published yet but I am working on it. It's a long process as many of you know, but I'm enjoying the journey and learning a lot in the process. I will be starting a Work In Progress Wednesday on my personal blog this week. I'd love you to stop by and let me know what you think of my work!

And my sixth life began last month with the birth of our son. So now I'm a mother in addition to everything else. I'm learning about midnight feedings (which are a lot different than midnight readings), Desitin, diaper sizes, baby clothes, crying, typing one handed, etc. What a journey this will be!

Now I'm looking forward to the rest of my lives and I hope they don't stop at nine. Good luck with the goal setting, Smile Big and most of all Have Fun! :)