Usually I am thoroughly pleased to see the end of a year and the beginning of a new one, but this year it just seems as though I have unfinished business. I did a little more than survive Christmas this year; I think I actually had a lot of fun and tried to enjoy my time off with the kids instead of thinking about all the stuff I couldn't buy or the fact that my Christmas decorations looked less like LL Bean and more like Goodwill. We had our cherished friends and family for Christmas Eve and spent the next morning watching the kids tear through Christmas morning-hoping they would find some treasures and surprises under the tree. We spent three wonderful days catching up with parents and siblings and lots of nieces and nephews. And by some true Christmas miracle, John and I managed to get along through this holiday season and were even still chummy by Christmas eve (maybe because there were no big toys to put together this year)!
And still, I'm just not ready to let go. I've run around my house today dusting and changing sheets and making all things clean and new, trying in vain to finish any leftover projects from 2013. But there they all are staring me in the face: the half painted stairs leading up to the attic, the pictures I haven't hung, the bedroom curtains I'd planned to replace still hanging with their stains. And the biggest dagger of all, this blog with its last entry reading, January 2013. Ugh!! Just stick a knife in me. How sad, one lousy entry. What insight into the rush and push and pull that was 2013. I'm not just ready for it to end; I need two more months, two more weeks, two more days. Surely, I would be able to finish one of those projects, or find the time to write down a few of the meaningful thoughts I'm thinking.
But it's time to lean forward to all that 2014 has to offer. There are new friends to make, new recipes to try, many projects started that could finally come to fruition. What opportunities! I was reminded most painfully yesterday that life has a crazy way of stopping you in your tracks and reminding you that you get few chances to connect, to love others, to parent your children, to honor your parents and to reach even a small number of your goals. So this year, starting tomorrow, starting tonight, tell someone you love them, really connect with those people in your life, think of something important that you really want to see happen this year and just take one little step in that direction. Then another, and then another.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
A Dressing Year in Review
The
Christmas season brings a lot of family letters about how wonderful everything
has been throughout the year and how happy everyone is to be celebrating the
holidays. I would love to say that 2012
has been amazing, but if there was a way to rhyme 12 with sucky, then I’d be
writing a poem instead of a post. I'm glad its a new year. Hello, 2013!
We've had some ups and downs in the past year, there is no doubt. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? And we’re all still standing. The house, on the other hand, is leaning slightly further (to the left, of course).
In March, John got a new job that he really loves working for a craft beer distributor. It is a growing company, and John has become quite knowledgeable about pale ales, porters and lagers, as well as all the necessary safety standards to keep the company and workers safe and productive. I think our house could use a few OSHA standards....
Our summer at the lake was definitely one of the highlights of the year. We spent many weeks and weekends at the lake starting with Memorial Day. We had record temperatures throughout the month of July and spent days floating in the lake watching our crazy dog Maisy chase geese across the water. We re-connected with family and friends, and Julia and Ian spent a week at Camp Crosley along with their cousins.
August brought changes with three kids and three different schools. Julia started middle
school, Ian went to 4th grade, and Norah began her 2nd year of pre-school. Our lazy summer mornings came to an abrupt end as we all have to be out the door by 7:30a.m. We’ve got crazy hair and odd lunches, but we’re there if not on time, then peeling in on two wheels while the bells still ringing! Some days it feels like we do enough juggling and logistics planning to pull off a UN resolution, but we do manage to gather around our own table every night to share the best and worst of our days.
I’ve been embracing semesters as my college made the transition from quarters this fall. I feel extremely lucky to have a career that I love, working with students who often teach me more about life and learning that I could ever share with them.
We've had some ups and downs in the past year, there is no doubt. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? And we’re all still standing. The house, on the other hand, is leaning slightly further (to the left, of course).
In March, John got a new job that he really loves working for a craft beer distributor. It is a growing company, and John has become quite knowledgeable about pale ales, porters and lagers, as well as all the necessary safety standards to keep the company and workers safe and productive. I think our house could use a few OSHA standards....
Our summer at the lake was definitely one of the highlights of the year. We spent many weeks and weekends at the lake starting with Memorial Day. We had record temperatures throughout the month of July and spent days floating in the lake watching our crazy dog Maisy chase geese across the water. We re-connected with family and friends, and Julia and Ian spent a week at Camp Crosley along with their cousins.
August brought changes with three kids and three different schools. Julia started middle
school, Ian went to 4th grade, and Norah began her 2nd year of pre-school. Our lazy summer mornings came to an abrupt end as we all have to be out the door by 7:30a.m. We’ve got crazy hair and odd lunches, but we’re there if not on time, then peeling in on two wheels while the bells still ringing! Some days it feels like we do enough juggling and logistics planning to pull off a UN resolution, but we do manage to gather around our own table every night to share the best and worst of our days.
I’ve been embracing semesters as my college made the transition from quarters this fall. I feel extremely lucky to have a career that I love, working with students who often teach me more about life and learning that I could ever share with them.
In October John and Julia were in a pretty bad wreck which totaled the older of two our old cars and finally got us motivated to buy a new vehicle. So we traveled in style to Thanksgiving dinner in our new Nissan Quest mini-van (though there is nothing mini about it--especially the monthly payment!)
John and I made a new acquaintance this year who pointed out the obvious to us a we were both commiserating about the chaos of raising three kids, having two demanding careers, and a falling down house with a laundry list of repairs. In a few years we won't have all this mayhem. There won't be little kids who are spilling their cereal and milk at breakfast, and lunch bags that can't be found or permission slips that end of buried at the bottom of a backpack. The days of rushing kids to programs and meetings and remembering last minute that we were supposed to bring a dessert will wane and things will get quieter and calmer. But we are in the thick of it now and we can fight that "out of control" feeling or we can recognize it for what it is: the reality of family life, the joys, the frustrations, the chaos, the exhaustion, the financial stress, the excitement, the support we can give each other for our accomplishments and our failures.
So my wish for 2013 is that we go a little gentler on ourselves. We remind each other as my mother would quote,"this too shall pass." My wish is that we embrace the simple things in life, create positive memories, yell less often and laugh more. Happy New Year.
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