The end of one year and birth of the next is a natural time to reflect on one’s life and situation. Resolutions are set, and many are already broken. (I’ve only kept one New Year’s resolution in my whole life, by the way. For one year exactly, and then, boy, watch out!) I prefer New Year’s assessments rather than resolutions. Think about it. How is your life today? Is it where you thought it would be a year ago, 5 or 10 years ago? Is your life better now than a year ago? One can take this even further. What do you want to be when you “grow up”? (This applies to people of any age.) How close are you to that goal? Are you moving toward or away from your dream? What can you do today to get back on track? I’ve been doing these mini-assessments subconsciously for weeks now. I think this past year has been pretty wonderful. After nearly 10 years of pain and emotional rollercoaster rides, we have a child to complete our family. Now 3, George has been such a delight. Every day he comes up with something new – and profoundly intelligent, of course. Even though we’re completely exhausted by the end of the day, he makes us feel young and alive. On my birthday recently, he woke me up earlier than I would have wanted, and proceeded to sing his own version of “Happy Birthday” for five minutes, followed by hugs and kisses. I’ve realized lately that I’ve never been as silly as I am with George. Even as a child, I don’t think I ever allowed myself to be truly silly. Now I can be spotted anywhere (even in public) singing and dancing with abandon. Besides all of our little rituals, perhaps the most poignant reminder of how good my life is now is when I walk out to the garage each morning. There in the fresh snow, usually in a winding, most-unstraight line, is a set of little boot prints. Each time I see them I still get all warm and squishy inside (yes, my vocabulary has changed with George, too). The little things in life can bring the most joy and satisfaction, and that’s my choice for the new year – to revel in all those fun, little things.
