A Brave New Year

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It's been a very, very big past few weeks for the clan. Yesterday was the first day to really get back to some semblance of a routine after immense hoopla, a ton of To Dos, holiday celebrating, travel, family time, a court visit and so much more.

It was so nice to have last weekend to catch our breath. It was wonderful to have time with friends and neighbors, time to get caught up on a little cooking for the week, clean the house and continue working on that ever expanding To Do list. We have had friends offer us such kindness the past few weeks and particularly since The Man left again. Such a lovely and surprising blessing.

I am happy to say that I've been stock piling fun little things for me to look forward to after The Man left. I had stashed away two of my favorite chocolate bars - Cadbury Fruit and Nut bars, the latest Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, a saved episode of Parenthood to watch and I kept some clothes shopping money in my wallet from the holidays. I knew I would be grateful for small pleasures and a little quiet time after such an intense and immense two weeks as much as I hated to see The Man leave.

The Bug and I are finding our way into our new life here together with school, extra-curriculars, play dates and more. Homework every night. I realized last night that if I'm going to get her in bed on time, I really have to start watching the clock at about 5:30 and planning well how we use our time throughout the evening. It's a little intimidating to try to figure out 1st grade homework. Just don't want her to miss anything that I may have overlooked.

I still haven't taken down the Christmas decorations. I think it's because once I take them down, I'm not sure where I can put them. I'm going to aim to do that tonight. Also today I am starting work on my new vision board. Tomorrow night I am leading a Vision Board workshop for the women's group at my church. So I want to get a head start. Should be really fun.

I think my theme for this year is definitely connected to peaceful, joyful calm. I feel a new sense of peace about life and my place in it. Big things that were causing me worry and frustration have resolved and now I can move forward in new ways that I was held back from before. That feels so good. It's important that I take this time to enjoy where we are and live in gratitude and happiness.

How about you? What has changed for the better for you this year and how it is changing your daily life? It's something fun to think about.