It is January 3rd, in a brand new year. Today I am back to work, and I find myself reflecting on the past year, and thinking about my hopes for this new one. With a new year, I feel like there are just so many new possibilities; so much potential.
This past year has been one difficult year! I've written a lot of it already: my husband going to college, changing over my day home from private to licensed, moving. But it has also had a lot of great things: my sister moving in with us, my daughter starting grade one, new day home clients, reaching my weight loss goal, getting back in touch with old friends, meeting new people who've had a profound impact on me, taking a vacation, beginning to get back in touch with myself, new writing projects...and so many more. This coming year I am looking forward to having more life to enjoy and savour, and to taking the time to really connect with those I love.
There are so many life events that throw me into a spiral of reflection, and right now this is happening. This Christmas, we had an intensely busy time. We hosted a Christmas Eve dinner, traveled to a few different places and then had a New Year's get together here. I also ran around like crazy on the one and only day I had free to get my passport application in order and sent away. I feel like this holiday has had very little rest, but that's okay. It was a hectic and wonderful way to end a hectic but wonderful year. Being so busy, for some reason, always sparks my brain waves. Also, my grandad,at 80 years old is looking like he may not have a lot of time left on this earth. He has been battling cancer for the past few years, and at the moment has a broken hip along with pneumonia. The doctors say that if things don't turn around, he likely will pass away in a matter of days. While I've never been close with my grandad, the past few years I have seen him more often, and have come to know him a little differently than I did when I was a kid. I know I will be sad when he is gone, and I will feel loss. This is one of those things that makes me think too, and remember again that the people I love are what matter, and spending quality time with them is the most important thing.
This year, I have some goals. I'm not one to make resolutions, but I do think it's a good idea to set goals for myself that I can attain, with timelines and realistic expectations (you might be thinking that it's the same thing...but I am adamant that it's NOT). Some of my goals this year are:
1) Finish the first draft of my novel and begin the extensive background research it is going to require to make it realistic and believable.
2) Make sure my fitness and activity gets more consistent. I've been incredibly sporadic in my workouts and eating, and I really feel it, especially after a month of indulgence in all things sugary, fatty and alcoholic.
3) Purpose to spend quality time with the people in my life. If you don't purpose for this to happen, often it gets lost in the shuffle. I want to spend more time with my husband, my sister and my extended family. I want to spend more time with friends, and with myself. I want to make the most of the time I spend with my kids. (Part of this goal is taking time out from my normal life to go to Las Vegas with a group of amazing friends, and I really can't wait!)
That's pretty much it. I have to stop operating in burn out mode and start living to my fullest. I have to really make the most of the time I have here, because there is absolutely no way of knowing how much of it I have. I can't come to the end of my life having missed time with a single person, or having been so frivolous with my time that I have regrets. I want everything good that this life has to offer, and I'm going to have it.
Are you?
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