I love July 2, not only is it my birthday- it is the half day of the year. 2010 has reached her halfway mark.

I asked and life delivered. On my 34th birthday, I was ready for a significant life change- and now, at 35, I’m engaged!! I didn’t learn how to decoupage, but I did visit Venice, Naples, and Rome this January. And I joined the Catholic church- no small feat.  The other ideas for significant life changes from last year aren’t ruled out either.  I may still get a PhD or have a career change. I crossed off  a couple of those more casual goals, but left some behind. This hasn’t come without a little crisis. Changing my name, choosing a new home, and carving out a new identity have been challenges I am embracing. I’m even exorcising some old demons at the Emily Program.

My hope for 35 is to grow more creative and more flexible.  I have a really great year ahead: a move, a wedding, living with a spouse (full-time eek), and my greatest hope is to start a family.

To return to Lao Tzu, the inspiration for this blog’s title,

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

Happy New Year, everyone. Love, Meg

In the meantime, I thought I’d share my little victory of the evening. In 2007, I rented the film Penelope and was dazzled by the terrariums in the title character’s bedroom:

So I bought two glass apothecary jars and made big plans.

Flash forward to today (yes, 2010). My parents bought Kevin a bonsai in September and it is still thriving.

I decided to ask him for some support. We bought:

• this book
• charcoal for planters that don’t drain
• some small plants that don’t need lots of sun and can tolerate moisture
• potting soil
• moss
• garden gloves

I’ll let you know how it goes. They should be pretty low maintenance.

I’ll be back on track with blogging again soon, too.

xo, Meg

Kevin works for the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University (CSBSJU) and with that employ has come a really wonderful group of friends. Last year they revived a Fish Fry Crawl that makes me proud. They’ve been interviewed by The St. Cloud Times and the Minneapolis Star Tribune this year.

Krista and Katie at St. Albert the Great

Some of you are aware I have been attending classes and have even completed the first of three sacrements to become a full member of the Catholic Church this Saturday night at the Easter vigil. I attend the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, but Kevin and I are preparing for marriage near the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN at the Church of St. Joseph.

Marriage becomes hard work once you have poured the entirety of your life’s expectations for happiness into the hands of one mere person. Keeping that going is hard work. A recent survey of young American women found that what women are seeking these days in a husband—more than anything else—is a man who will “inspire” them, which is, by any measure, a tall order. As a point of comparison, young women of the same age, surveyed back in the 1920s, were more likely to choose a partner based on qualities such as “decency,” or “honesty,” or his ability to provide for a family. But that’s not enough anymore. Now we want to be inspired by our spouses! Daily! Step to it, honey! – Committed

I’m reading and loving Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert. The Eat, Pray, Love author examines married life as she once again finds love and circumstance require her to marry. Like any good librarian, I enjoy immersing myself in the topic.

For the record, I haven’t always loved Elizabeth. Oh, when Eat, Pray, Love came out I bought nine copies sending it to friends, giving copies away, even accidentally losing a copy to a Mexican rainstorm. Then, I confess, I got really angry when I reread the book after my ex-husband walked out on me. I dubbed her a thoughtless, careless person who had no regard for the spouse left behind.

With Committed I have found a lot of peace and more respect for Elizabeth and I hope she’ll forgive me for my judgmental past. She does a brilliant job of showing her tender heart, cataloging her faults, and talking about marriage in an inspiring and hopeful way.

I myself have never been a skeptic about marriage. I will work to temper those, “you must inspire me!” tendencies for a partner in life, a soft place to land, someone with whom I can share the journey. I feel fortunate that through all the pain of divorce and broken dreams, I have emerged on the other side with my heart remarkably intact. Elizabeth and I may have different views on commitment, but I think we agree that we’re fortunate to choose who and how we love.

I thank God and the universe everyday for Kevin, a good man who believes in the risk and reward of marriage.

Meg’s Single Step was launched , when I was newly single in December of 2007. With a broken heart and a new life to invent, Lao Tzu’s words plus the double entendre felt just right.

Now with immense happiness, new love and a new future stretching out, Meg’s Single Step is just that- the next step in the journey. It’s here to stay. As for our joint ventures, Kevin and I have started a new blog for family and friends: My Sweetest Find.

So I’m still here and I’m not going anywhere.

I was looking back at birthday goals from 7 mos. ago, and wish #1 has come true. I have had a significant life change. Looking at the others, I have also found a  few geocaches and been mayor of several places of Foursquare. It is good to look back at the list. Maybe I’ll get working on another soon.

There are amazing events like Goodwill Easter Seals’ Bridal Showcase on February 19th and 20th. From their site: New, gently used and bridal store samples, Gowns with designer labels like Reem Acra, Vera Wang, Aimee Atelier, Justina McCaffrey, Amsale, Lazaro, Amy Kuschel and Marisa at up to 90% off the original retail price!

I love the idea of handmade save the dates, invites and thank yous. Paper Source is having a couple of wedding events in Uptown.

Although less local, blogs are also a great resource and I love reading the Wedding Porn posts from Offbeat Bride. Stay tuned for our new wedding/ joint website, too.

My good friend Heidi Dolamore is a librarian in the Contra Costa County Library system in California. We keep in touch via gtalk, and tonight Heidi popped on to chat.  “I’m delivering all of our valentines on Tuesday, did I tell you about that project?”

Did I mention Heidi is a genius? “We’ve got over 500 (valentines). This is for the branch that got cut to 4 days/24 open hrs because the city cut funding.”

These are so raw and so sweet.  You can see all 500+. Read their messages of hope, loss, and love for their libraries. Just when I was feeling a bit uncertain about our future, I see digital storytelling, a community mobilizing and some beautiful use of technology.