I think that I used to look back quite disappointed if I couldn't name a few significant changes or life events when the year came to a close. For sure, there are some exciting advances when I look at our little girl though - at this time last year our girl was just transitioning from crib to bed, on the verge of toilet learning, speaking a few barely intelligible toddler words, and I couldn't see an end to our breastfeeding journey in sight; and this year she's speaking her own mind in full sentences, sleeping through the night in her bed, and an underwear-wearing, toilet-going pro. And as for our breastfeeding journey, I think it has sadly just come to an end (but more on that another time).
All those exciting early year milestones aside, we tend to live quite a boring, quiet, slow sort of life (which I love and wouldn't trade for anything) where the days blend together in rhythm and ritual. We work the same jobs, live in the same apartment, go grocery shopping on Mondays, do laundry on Wednesdays. There isn't much to distinguish one day or a week from the next, and it's so easy to crave more and exciting and big - but all this predictable normalcy seems to be the ideal for us, a safe environment for us to flourish and grow as individuals. I know myself well enough by now to know I thrive best with a firm foundation.
This was a year that I felt confident enough to take on more creative and professional projects than I would have in the past and learned a lot about myself in the process. This was a year that I felt my marriage was stronger than ever before, especially following a year where it was the weakest it's ever been. This was a year that I really learned to love domestic life, to find joy in the cleaning, the folding of laundry, the tidying up at the end of the night - perhaps not jumping-for-joy joy, but a sort of happiness in the mundane tasks that fill our days. This was a year that I learned that allowing myself to be vulnerable, to admit my own weaknesses, made me stronger and happier and more at ease. This was a year that I felt some of my greatest successes and biggest shortcomings as a parent - and sought out a lot of learning resources in the process.
This was also a year that books were a bit of a lifeline for me as a mother, wife, human being this year - and in preparation for the new year, I started a small list of titles I'd like to delve into in these first few weeks to get me off on the right foot. I'll be signing off all social media for the month of January, and am looking forward to really losing myself in these titles.
Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
The Soul of Discipline: The Simplicity Parenting Approach to Warm, Firm, and Calm Guidance - From Toddlers to Teens by Kim John Payne
Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown
As always, I have no set resolutions for the new year, but intentions to keep seeking growth wherever I can; to do things that I know are good for my soul; to be kinder; to create more; to better serve my family; to be more vulnerable. All the best in 2018. Thanks, as always, for reading and taking an interest in our little world.
This post is in partnership with the Amazon Associates Program and contains affiliate links. As part of this program, I receive compensation. However, as always, all thoughts, opinions and run-on sentences expressed here are my own.
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