I hope you had a chance to read Laurel’s post from Monday. I really loved what she had to say about resolutions. I agree that I’m not a huge fan of them. But on New Year’s Day, we were driving as a family from Orange County to Palm Desert and we started to talk a bit as a family about 2017 and goals for 2018. Some people in the car bristled, but Dylan piped up and said that it’s good to reflect. And I agree. There is value in looking at the past year…the positives and the negatives…and look ahead to what you’d like to accomplish in the coming year.
On New Year’s Eve, we were with our friends, The Millers, and Cory asked us each to come up with one word that described 2017 for us. My word was CHANGE. We experienced a ton of change as a family. The girls lived in Toronto for 3 months this summer and as they returned home, Mac left for Vancouver Island for hockey and prep school. I could never have imagined a year ago where we would all be at today. But as Jason said…we may be semi-empty nesters early, but it is a joy to watch our kids pursue their passions and cheerlead from the sidelines. And we get to travel a lot to be with them and travel is something that we definitely want to do more of!
One word that I want to get rid of in my life for 2018 is STRESS. How often do I say that I’m stressed, or this is so stressful or I’m stressed out! Stress is a mindset and a way of looking at things. Yes, I am busy and our schedule as a family can be totally nut bar, but I need to just relax and take it a day at a time. At the end of November, I was having chest pains, my heart was racing and I was just feeling off. I went to the doctor and his first recommendation was to get off of caffeine, kombucha, green tea and tumeric. Ughhhh…you all know how much I love coffee! The detox headaches were not fun, but I am down to one cup a day. I went through some heart tests and just heard this week that all is well. Great news!
I guess what I learned is that I thought I was handling everything in my life, but my body was telling me it needed a break. So this year, I want to be more conscious of when I need rest, even though I’ve always been “high tempo”. And I really want to learn to trust fully in the Lord, because He sees the whole picture, and He cares for my kids even more than I do (hard to imagine, but true!). I think trust is a daily decision and something I will get better at the more I practice it!
Photo courtesy of Iulia Agnew
I also agree with Laurel’s thoughts on the coming year for the blog. I really want to “keep it real”, and at the same time maybe give you some ideas to sweeten your life just a little. That was actually the reason that we named the blog Sugar Plum Sisters…sugar plums are little, sweet treats. So, I hope that we can inspire you with doable things to make the way you live just a little better…or sweeter! We don’t post the pictures of when our houses are a gong show, because who really wants to see that?! But please know that our lives are not perfect…we just post the highlights. Our laundry rooms can be overflowing, the kitchen sinks full of dishes and the kids’ beds unmade!
So bring it on 2018! I am looking forward to an awesome year! Have you picked a word for 2018? Or is there a word you are getting rid of?
Photo Courtesy of Evan Chen Photography. Dress by Rimpy Sahota
