New Year

I saw this quote today and it spoke to exactly what my heart has been feeling lately.  A few weeks ago I read this wonderful blog post entitled "A Year of Ordinary Achievement".  It totally hit home for me.  I couldn't have come across it at a better time than now at the beginning of a new year when I do a lot of soul searching and rehashing of the previous year to see what I can work on and do better. We are an on-the-go family and our lives are busy and often chaotic.  We do pretty good recognizing and celebrating the big things, but we are not taking the time and making the effort to concentrate on the little successes and joys that make life better and worthwhile. I've heard it a million times -- "it's the little things", and lately that phrase has been hammering around inside my head so loudly that I could not ignore it any longer. My inner voice is practically yelling at me that this is what I need to learn this year.

Last year we made some big goals for our family. We accomplished quite a few and that feels amazing! But I decided this year, I wanted to make it a year that is all about the little things in life that often go uncelebrated or noticed. I feel like the last three or four years I have been wading through the sometimes murky and exhausting trials of motherhood and frustrations at times to have things a certain way or to a certain standard have been quite energy zapping. Not that I don't appreciate those times and the wonderful memories, but after 10 years of having babies in the home and feeling like I am just treading water and trying to keep caught up, I feel like it is finally time to get more organized, work on the little day to day things, make every day count, and for our family to thrive. Isn't that an awesome word -- thrive? In the dictionary it says:

Definition of THRIVE

1: to grow vigorously : flourish

2: to gain in wealth or possessions : prosper

3: to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances

Exactly what I want our family to do. I want this to be a year that we flourish, grow vigorously, prosper, and progress -- all the while growing closer as a family. If I made a wish list for what would make this a great year for us to thrive it would look something like this:

 

Less criticism and more compliments

Less to-do lists and more playing

Less angry voices and more moments of forgiveness

Less hurt feelings and more hugs

Less complaining and more helping

Less worry and more laughter
Less planning and more spontaneous fun
Less frustration and more patience
Less wants and more gratefulness


Here's to THRIVING in 2013, celebrating the small and ordinary acheivements, and making the little things matter!