As I was packing up the holiday decorations last week, I once again got out the packing tape. Surely we won't be spending another December in this house.I'll just make sure the boxes are well packed and secured. I'll save myself some time later. Of course, I used packing tape last year and then back in 2006 when I thought it was a sure thing that we were moving to Kansas. Who knows really? Surely, not I.
And so as I taped the boxes up I began to think of the year ahead. You know, resolutions, intentions, hopes and wishes.
It is like blank slate just waiting to be written upon, full of possibilities. What will I choose to write on it this year?
I have an idea about how I would like my life to be. A perfect day would include time for learning, time for yoga, time for reading and reflection. Healthy, wholesome, real food meals that taste fantastic. Wine to go with it. Time with my love. Time with my girl. Phone conversations with my daughters from time to time. And then... follow up with a good long 8 hour sleep where I don't wake up once in the night.
Of course that is the stuff fairy tales are made of. Not every day can go like that. I know that much. But, I do have some real concrete ideas of ways in which I can make that kind of day occur more often. These are some of the things I have come up with:
First of all I ordered a planner from Amazon. It hasn't arrived yet, which is a bummer. I like starting things at the beginning. I plan to get organized. So organized that everything runs as smoothly as a babbling brook. I plan to get an early start on the school work and hopefully finish up around noon. This will give Athena time for her own pursuits and give me a chance to start my home chores and also provide a solid hour for my yoga practice. This is very important to me so I plan to give it top priority.
Another thing that I want to incorporate is getting dinner prepped around 4pm. We eat between 6 and 6:30pm. Actually now that I think of it 6pm would be a better goal. As for the nourishing food, I have already signed up for the course Whole Foods Kitchen with Heather Bruggeman. I have wanted to take this course before but now is the time for me. I am looking forward to adding some plant based meals to our diet. Paul and Athena will most decidedly NOT like this but I figure I can make the meals for my lunches during the week.
I bought my daughter's treadmill from her last week. I LOVE it. Love it. I plan to use that as much as possible. At least 5 days a week. I go outside every day but I can't walk as fast as I would like with an almost 9 (oh my!) year old toddling along. Adding this to my yoga practice seems just perfect to me. I can also use it in those hot summer months when it is too mosquitoey ( I am sure that is a word ;)) or too hot to go outside.
As for reading and reflection, I have never been much of a fiction reader. I much prefer non-fiction. My mother gave me a heap of homesteading type books for Christmas. I plan to read every one. Paul watches TV in the evening so I can do scheduled reading time then. Perfect.
As for the sleep part. That might prove to be the most difficult yet. If I use the treadmill and keep the wine down to one heaping glass :) I know I'll sleep better. My biggest problem is a little girl with some anxieties at the present moment. Oh my. Not fun to be awakened by a tiny little "Mom" every other night. That is something we will definitely have to work on and soon.
As far as what the new year will hold in the broad sense, I do not know. Will we move to an acreage or a town, or heaven forbid, a city! Or will we stay here, in this unfriendly town but in the best house I have ever had. Will Martha have a litter of kittens? Will Nahla ever stop chasing the cat? Only time will tell. What I do know for certain is that we will be adding 2 new members to the family. A baby due this month and another in May. The May Grandbaby is a girl. We know that already. Could it be possible to add a Grandson? Well could it? Naw. I don't think so either. (We have 4 daughters and 3 granddaughters.)
I wish you all a New Year filled with all you hope for and all you dream of. And I share with you a quote quite fitting for this time of year.
"Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and
with too high a spirit to be
cumbered with your old nonsense"
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
2 comments:
Happy New Year to you Michelle. How exciting, to be waiting for the arrival of more grandbabies. :) My nine year old has been waking us up lately with nighttime fears too. Is this just normal for this age? He's all of a sudden scared of the dark.
It sounds like you have a lot of wonderful ideas for the new year! I am taking Heather's Whole Food Kitchen workshop as well, and really looking forward to it! I have been moving my family more towards a plant based, whole foods diet for the past year, and they seem to be adapting well to it. Of course, my kids are still very little, and my husband couldn't boil water if I asked him to, so maybe it is a little easier :-) Thanks for such honest reflection! These are similar to the ideas that I have for my own family! Good luck to you!
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