Note: I wrote this right after the new year began…however time hasn’t allowed me to get it up, but I felt that what I had to say was worth being read. So….here it is….
Sometimes I think that the new Year’s resolution idea is silly. Because who really keeps to all those lists and dreams of what you will accomplish in a year….I sure never have.
Recently I was reading through some posts on Facebook and I came across one where the author was posting about setting a word for your year. That struck me as being a better idea than a long list of “to dos”.
The past few days I keep thinking about where I’ve been. Last year was full of surprises. March, I found out we were pregnant with number 3…Lil’ E was just 10 months old. We also had a great summer with our roommates-the G Family, which was an unexpected gift to get to spend time together before they moved. Then, after 20 years, we moved churches. And to top it all off, after planning for a lil’ baby girl, we were given another unexpected gift, a little baby boy (who will be known here as Baby M) just less than 3 weeks ago. So, it’s been a few weeks of getting used to having three. Of many nights where I think of countless things I want to write, only to fall asleep before getting a chance to pop open my laptop.
If I were to think of a word that I want 2013 to evolve into, it would be balance. Sometimes I get so involved in my creativity, that other things fall behind. My housekeeping skills are testament to this. For example, I really dislike sweeping the floor…since I could do it about 3-5 times a day. So I just don’t some days. And then my house just starts to look messy. But if I just bit the bullet and did it every time I needed to instead of flipping through pinterest, drinking my coffee and thinking about the next creative project, I think not only would the messy floor not overwhelm me, but I’d feel better about being organized and tidy. I am all about tidy… we will talk about cleaning later….:)
Balance is an interesting topic. Balance means something different to everyone. Everyone has a different tolerance for things like clean kids, tidy floors & outside the home expectations. If it were up to me, I would just hibernate in my house, hibernate inside my own world for a year. But it isn’t. There is family to see, birthday playdates to take the kids to, and classes to attend.
So I yet struggle with what balance is to me. What I have figured out thus far is that my idea of balance is mine alone. I don’t really have to justify it to anyone. I don’t really even mind if people don’t think I am balanced. That observation isn’t theirs to make and for me to accept. Rather, I get to make my own decision for me, my kids, my family and be happy that I am who I feel I am supposed to be.
This year, I commit to not run around to every class, play group and activity placed in front of me. I will never get these “little” years of my kiddos back, so I will plan to savor every moment I get. And if that isn’t balance to you, that’s ok w
ith me. I can’t balance my life by expecting my house to be “the house that Pinterest built” (As a family friend so well put it.) I can only balance it by how at peace we are as a family. Peace brings balance.
Happy 2013! May it be all you dream it to be.
