progress-not perfection

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. ~Ellen Goodman


Progress-not perfection is my aim...

It's that time of year.

New Year's resolutions.

A new year is quickly approaching.

 New challenges. New memories. New experiences.

Sometimes we (or shall I say, I) tend to set some lofty expectations,

which inevitably fail,

so this year I am trying

a small, positive shift in behavior

which is likely(hopefully) to create a pleasant ripple of change through our family life.

Find two or three minutes of solitude,

and ask yourself this:

What can I do to make my family/child’s life a better one?

Figure out the concept that will work best for you

and commit yourself

to create progress- not perfection!

Being a wife and mother is a job where perfection is always elusive!

"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself."   ~Anna Quindlen

Happy New Year!

vision of sugar plums

Tonight we went to Christmas Eve Church.

Just like we do every year.

Tradition.

It is my favorite.

Hands down.

Goose bumps.

I love Chrismas Eve Church!

 

 I sit here tonight well aware of the fact that someday I will look back and long for these days.

Staying up late

sneaking out presents

taking bites from cookies left with love, wonder, magic.

I sit here full of anticipation. 

Its all bottled up

and I feel like a bottle of Mt. Dew that some kid just shook the heck out of.

Ya know?!

This Christmas has come and gone so very quickly this year.

I was feeling sad about all the "things" we "didn't" get to this year (cookies, ginger bread house, etc)

Before tomorrow comes and Christmas is really here I needed to sit down and reflect on the fact that

I love to create tradition.

I love to create memories.

I love to create that feeling,

the one that is a combination of comfort

and exhilaration.

That's the feeling that is rooted in tradition.

That's the feeling I love.

That's the feeling I want to create for my children.

So this year I have come to see

that it really isn't about the "things."

It's about the time. 

It is the time we spend together that creates the memories.....not the "thing" we are doing (or not doing in this year's case)

The kids are so full of magic this year and that has been, well, magical.

I can hardly go to sleep......

The kids however, are fast asleep as visions of sugar plums dance in their heads.

{insert gushy happy mom moment}

Merry Christmas to you and

I hope something this season restored the magic within you

My wish for you is that you live that feeling.....the one that combines comfort and exhiliration this weekend!

Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise

Reflection

A word we use frequently at work.

We toss it around like it's nothing.

Reflection is hard.

Reflection is a journey.

Reflection is scary.

What if you take the chance? 

What if you jump into it?

What if you give it all you got

You hold your breath 

Dive in

Risking current ignorance

Reflecting on.....

on everything......

and it creates more questions than answers.

Yes there are times it will lead you to more answers than questions.

That's the risk.

That's where we get hung up.

Afraid to jump

clinging to current ignorance

in fear of the questions that may arise within...

But then again maybe we should fear the answers more than the questions.

So where is the greatest risk,

accepting current ignorance

or wagering that the reflection process will lead you to a better tomorrow?

Just reflecting

a little.

Holding my breath...