Reflections

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day"

-Edith Lovejoy Pierce

On this last day of 2011, I am feeling some relief that this year is over.  I can't say that any one event was particularly traumatic or life changing, but there were things that overall made this not my favorite year.



It started out in January with me in family court with my ex, and although in the end it all worked out, it was several months of major stress and doubt.  Not to mention some seriously difficult financial times.  It was also the year of car repairs, something I am never very well prepared for.  It seems that is the one area that I tend to  neglect, I think it just  gets to be too much for me to keep up on, with the house, yard, work, kids, etc.  But in the end, I've learned that I am stronger than I thought, and proper maintenance leads to less problems down the road.  I hope to carry that lesson into 2012 regarding my own personal health as well. My experience with bursitis in April taught me just how debilitating severe pain can be.  Let's face it, I am too young to have those worries on top of every other worry a single-mom faces.  I ended my last week of December getting the last check-up I was long over-due for, and for me that is a starting point to focus this next year more on ME and my health. 

 At a memorial I recently attended for the mother of a friend of mine, he made the remark that his mom took far better care of everyone else than she did of herself.  That really had an impact on me, because I know I am guilty of the same. This life is just too short to take for granted, and I am afraid I have fallen into the rut of everyday life where I am not taking the best care of myself. 

I am hoping that the new year will bring me the courage to follow the dreams that I have for myself.  I regret that fear has kept me idle, and not moving forward this past year or two to become the person I really want to be, and most importantly, set an example for my daughters that they can look up to.

All in all, I have nothing to complain about, I have two beautiful daughters and a nice home.  I know many who faced real losses this past year, so I am grateful nothing that devastating happened to my own family.  This time of year always has me a little melancholy, and this year more so, as my sister and nieces were not able to spend the holidays with us.  I really missed not spending Christmas with those sweet girls. I am thankful though, for the time I got to spend with my own daughters, especially my oldest who is home from college for one more week.  We haven't done anything exciting, but it's just been nice to hang out together.

I am looking forward to a new year and hope that it brings you health, happiness, opportunities, and most of all, peace.  We can't ask for more than that.

Happy New Year & Happy Thoughts,

Lisa