I’m a little late to the blogging world but in case you haven’t heard, the holidays have come and gone.  I’m not going to repeat what everyone else has said about how they slowed down for the holidays and enjoyed special moments with their kids, because we did and it was wonderful and the older Cora gets the more precious it all is.  Instead I’m going to tuck it away and tell you that it honestly was one of the best holiday seasons my husband and I have had together.  Despite sickness after sickness and burying his Grandmother, it was by far the most magical time.  It takes the sum of everything to appreciate what you have.

Now we find ourselves 8 days into the New Year with some pretty lofty goals.  Goals that we aren’t just making because it is a new year but because that is how time flows.  We joked for the first several years together about how we went pedal to the metal and conquered a lot.  It slowed down after we had Cora and now we feel like it is time to shake up our lives a bit.

I can tell you that if you throw some goals to the universe, you better be ready to tackle what the universe throws back at you.  It’s going to involve a few moves and selling/building of homes.  It is going to mean I have to pack my patience and get creative with life.  We are going to start trying for baby number two. Which means I must have faith, which I’m just terrible at.  It involves getting serious about my career and finding something that doesn’t fill me with dread everyday.  This involves stepping outside the box and taking a leap.  This year will mean two trips to the beach because my child won’t quit begging for the ocean.  Poor land locked child.

I’m also working harder on my “me” time.  I’m the only one holding myself back on that honestly.  In November I made a huge point of catching up with those friends I haven’t had a chance to catch up with.  The ones you randomly say you will grab a glass of wine with and don’t.  I called them and just set a time.  It felt good.  But on the flip side, I’m choosing those friends more carefully than ever.  I’m letting go of the more negative ones, we all have them and know them, and the older I get, the more I can’t shoulder their issues.

In fact, I’m letting go of a lot of things.  Maybe it comes with age, maybe it comes with the more experiences you have in life, but I just don’t want to carry around  a lot of the shit anymore.  Other people’s problems are not mine. My husband and I are proud of where we are at in our life.  We don’t have a need to compare ourselves to anyone else and more importantly we don’t need to feel guilty for being at this point in our lives.  We are who we are at the end of the day and I’m damn proud of who we are independently, as a couple, a family and as parents.

I hope this new year fills you with hope, faith and courage.