The 2009 Wrap-Up!

Well, friends, it has been a whole year since this sweet little field of blogs began...and yes...it is again time for a yearly summary of things that happened, lessons I learned and truths that unfolded in front of me time after time, day after day.

Sooo...I think I will just start with a list.

:: List of major events that happened in 2009 in the life of Leslie Gray ::
January: I began working with Address to Impress, an invitation company based out of Tupelo, MS.
February: I suffered through the readjustment period that was "Moving back in with my Parents" and I survived.
March: I established an office space and studio on Bankhead in New Albany...later to be known as Gray & Company
April: I starred in the play "M*A*S*H" and I learned how to pay rent.
May: I found love and didn't even know it.
June: I learned how to drive my orange volkswagen and I stopped traffic all over New Albany.
July: I returned to the stage, performing in Broadway 5 and I found out that the path I chose it quaint but absolutely charming.
August: I watched a meteor shower, snuggled into my studio for the fall, and found out that Mr. Bloody Bones is smarter than I thought.
September: I gave my best friend away to a guy who is now her best friend. And I confidently walked away from an influence in my life that never really cared about me, but rather saw me as a mere business transaction and a piece of the puzzle. Oh, yeah....and I started what is now the Gray & Company tshirt line! (September was a really big month!)
October: I turned 24. I grew older. I also played the role of June Sanders in "Smoke on the Mountain"...my first role with any significance.
November: I grew a thick skin and got my hands dirty...working hard and making things happen. I also decorated my shop for Christmas for the first time ever...a truly joyful time.
December: I enjoyed the holidays, despite their busy-ness for the first time in years and I found out that people show up in your life when you least expect them and probably need them most.

The past year has offered me more of an education than I ever received in an institution of higher learning. I have had hard lessons in business and life. I have had my heart broken and I found that there is nothing that can heal it better than your best friends sunbathing in a pool with a cold drink on a hot summer day. I rearranged my thoughts on how my fairy tale wedding will unfold one day and I got a good start on learning how to tell people "no." Through all of the lessons I have learned this year, the one that remains most evident is that God is gracious and giving and good. Though there is nothing in my life that reflects an entitlement to what I have, God provides anyway....he gives daily and without reservation- His grace for the times when I create a royal disaster of my life and His love when I feel abandoned by those I put false trust in. My Father provides and my life is a testament to that.

Pink Pearls of Wisdom for 2009:
1. Never climb so far up the ladder that it hurts when you fall back down. -Bill Gray
2. Rejection is like getting a shot...it hurts at first but it makes you a better person.
3. Fear of love is fear of life.
4. There is nothing wrong with loving polka dots and animal print in abundance and with wreckless abandon.
5. If you let them, curious people will waste your life away.
6. There is a difference between business and rudeness.
7. The battle of overcoming who you used to be and proving who you are is actually a war in a small town.
8. Love is a many splendor thing, Y'all.

Hit me with your best shot, 2010!