2012: A Year in Review

I want to try to do this without looking at old posts so I'll focus on what really stood out. 2012 certainly gave me quite a bit to ponder and look back on. In a scant 365 days,

• J turned one, began walking fully, learned to sign, and started to make a few noises that sound like "mama" and "dada"
• He started speech and physical therapy, which have legitimately helped him
• I'm also VERY proud to say that if you ask him what sound a duck makes, he will indeed respond with a recognizable "quack quack quack"! 
• He knows where his tummy, hands, and head are and understands quite a lot.
• He made a great transition into day care, going from crying for half the day to barely registering when I drop him off
• After months of searching, networking, and resume variations, I got a job...in a field other than teaching. I learn something new every day, including the fact that I don't really miss the classroom. Had I not lost my previous job, I wouldn't have known that. Yet I still get to use my skills as a lover of English, grammar, and words. How lucky that I was able to wait it out and find something that suits me.
• I learned that you can, indeed, function on one salary and unemployment and still go out to the occasional movie, with help from very generous parents
• My niece and nephew each turned one, another set of twin nieces and nephews turned two, and my youngest sister married the love of her life in a gorgeous outdoor ceremony, perfect for them
• My sister M started a new job 
• My grandmother made it through one more year when we all doubted that she would due to illness and sheer age (she's 97 with a birthday in April) and got to see her great-grandson smile and wave at her
• One cousin started college and another is a junior in high school, earning top grades
• With the help of a new eating plan, T and I have lost over 60lbs and 25 lbs, respectively. We feel healthy and more energized than we have in years.
• T and I grew as friends and in our marriage in so many good and healthy ways
• We finally made it to Tadoussac after four years and introduced J to that gorgeous, special place
• I made some new friends and reconnected with old ones
• On that note, I began to do more for myself outside of my family and realized that that's not selfish; it's good and necessary for me
• I read more books
• I found a system to help me and my family become more organized, and I've discovered there might be something to this Type-A way of living
• I got to spend time with J, teaching him and watching him grow in all ways
• I learned to knit
• I changed my hair
• I learned a great deal about the ins and outs of health insurance, more than I'd ever want to know, yet not enough to truly understand it
• I fell in love with cooking and finding recipes that work for us (thank you, Pinterest!)
• I came into my own as a person, understanding more about who I am and what I can do to be the best, healthiest, strongest version of myself. It's still a work in progress, but that's the best way to be, I believe. And I thank you all for reading this blog and sharing some of your responses with me. It truly means a great deal to me.

I've always made resolutions, but I feel that that word leaves no room for error. If I "resolve" to do something and then it doesn't happen, I feel guilty (and boy, am I still learning that lesson--to stop beating myself up because it accomplishes nothing) for not doing it. So instead, I want to make some *goals* for 2013. Maybe I'm nitpicking with words, but hey, it's my job. So I have a few goals:

1. Stay with my eating and exercise routine...but recognize that missing an occasional workout or eating a decadent dessert every so often does not make me a terrible person who fell off track.
   
2. Continue reading books, either in paper or electronic form
   
3. Stay with that organization--all it does is make my life less frantic in all aspects, particularly personal and work
   
4. Continue to communicate well with my husband
   
5. Reach out to friends I've lost touch with because they help enrich my life

I can come up with more, but let's stick to five for now. I think that makes it more manageable, and if I want to add more, I can. When I look back, yes, I had a tough year financially, but it made me truly focus on all the other riches in my life, and I am fortunate enough to have many.

So here's to 2013 and what it may bring. Happy New Year, folks. May it bring you much love and happiness.