I Can See Clearly Now

       With the start of a New Year we get to wipe the slate clean and start over, right? It is funny how there is this assumption of starting anew, as if you can just forget about anything that has happened before this year. But, how amazing would that be? If only we could erase anything (and anyone) that we didn't want in our "baggage". Take back all the stupid things you said or the words you spoke in anger. Go back and not buy all those useless things that you wasted money on, throughout the year. That purse, you just had to have, to go with that outfit, that was gonna change your life. It has now just become another dust collector on a shelf of other unused accessories that were neither life changing, or worth the wasted money. Would you have loved more or, in some cases, less? Would you have finally lost that baby weight and more? Would you have switched careers? Would you have finally sold it all and moved to Paris? Would you have painted your dining room that ridiculous shade of red ? Started writing that novel? Danced, painted, photographed, listened, hugged, prayed, forgave, and be there more?

     

    We spend so much time focusing on what we didn't accomplish and not nearly enough reveling in what we have accomplished. I painted the entire family room downstairs. I painted all the baseboards and, with my husband's help, we painted the walls. We also had new carpet installed in the whole house. I also painted a large "accent" wall (back to the color of the rest of the room) in my den and stairwell. I was able to do some organizing and have continued it into the new year. I traveled with my family, celebrated my daughter's and husband's many accomplishments, was my parent's rock 

(through some big family struggles last year), and I loved my husband and child with every ounce of my being. I was a mom and wife. I was a friend. I was a sister. I held this house together, I was the glue. That's really not a bad year?

   

    Pinterest had this cute idea. You take a large jar and each time something significant happens in your family, you write it down, and stick it in the jar throughout the year. Then you read them on New Year's Eve. I did this all year. I told my husband, but as usual, he tuned out my idea. I did it. All year, I stuck these little strips of paper in the jar. Most of them were about CGB and her many accomplishments. But there were others, like my Daddy finally having successful surgeries and leaving rehab. If it mattered to me, I put it in the jar. My husband had forgotten, but shockingly, he enjoyed this on New Year's Eve and promised to put stuff in the jar for 2014. It was fun to look back on a year of our life as a family. I look forward to doing this when CGB is old enough to comprehend it. This will be our tradition, to focus on our positive accomplishments, instead of focusing on regrets.

   My list for 2014 it already on paper. It spans the spectrum, from remodeling jobs to my health to making more photo books. I'm going to put it in the jar and see how many I can mark off on New Year's Eve. The rest will just go back in the jar. No regrets, just accomplishments!