Welcome 2008

I'm a bit behind in welcoming the new year, but we've had a string of bad luck over the past few weeks....the latest being the dreaded stomach flu the kids and I all experienced over the weekend. It began with Rollin, next night Nina, the following night me and Sela. Zig barricaded himself up in the library and was very careful about handwashing and slept by himself. He was spared. I knew I'd get it. It's impossible not to hug and cuddle the kids when they are sick. Even though I knew I'd get it, I tried so hard to prevent throwing up by trying to lie down for 12 hours straight (it sometimes worked for Erin), but of course I was not so lucky. It wiped me out and I actually stayed in bed for 32 hours. But, one nice thing about the flu is it is over quick. I felt great come Sunday morning. Thank goodness, because boy is there some major deep cleaning to be done when the whole house is sick. Anyway, I feel like we all got a good cleanse to start the year off right.

I do have some goals for the new year. I haven't taken too much time to think about them yet but I always have several swimming around in my head at any given moment. One goal I have is to try and hold family home evening weekly. I kind of feel like every day is family home evening, so to make something formal seems funny sometimes, but the kids love a lesson and the whole program aspect of it, and it is a great moment for teaching and learning from each other. We do family home evenings from time to time but we are far from regular at them, so I know that while I might not be perfect at it, I can succeed in making significant improvement. We started tonight with a lesson on gratitude. We read about the ten lepers and talked about what happier people we are when we acknowledge blessings. I printed a crossword puzzle with questions about the story and the girls were able to answer every one. We had to make whole wheat chocolat chip cookies, of course, and then we began writing thank you notes for Christmas. Zig is out of town and Rollin was already in bed so it was just the girls.

I want to really get down a system for meal planning. I cook a lot and I enjoy it, but I want to plan better. I can come up with meals on the fly, but it is such a wonderful feeling to know what's on the menu in the morning and to have all the ingredients. It frees my mind up and it definitely saves time and energy.

I also want to get back in shape. I need all the energy I can get. I also need the break and alone time that comes with exercise, and all those endorphins. And a hard body. I think I'm still a year off from being able to get back into regular tennis at a club, but that is definitely in the plans. I am getting really anxious to play again.

My final goal is one I often think about and strive to do and that is to live in the moment. To be present as much as I can. To stop and look into the eyes of my children, to hold their little hands, to listen to their words, to touch and hold and smell them, and to savor these precious childhood moments. As a mother, I don't know if I can ever feel like I've done this well enough or often enough, but I'm happy trying. There is always something that needs to be done. Something I've accepted this year is that I will never be perfectly organized and do and be everything I have planned for myself with small children. I won't accomplish everything on my list, I will organize that dang craft closet probably 500 times or more when it's all said and done, but that's life with small children and that is the life I have chosen and the one I love. It wears me out, but there are amazing moments that can and do happen each day. I notice them more when I am not so busy and consumed with what needs to be done, so I continue to strive for balance and hope that it all works out.