Welcome, 2011!
Well, it's a brand new year and we are faced, yet again, with a wonderful opportunity. We can approach the next 365 days with the same attitude we carried through 2010 or we can hit the mental reset button and head into the new year with a brand new attitude.
This is not to say that everyone had a bad attitude about last year, but the general consensus (at least among my friends) was that last year was tougher than it had to be. The recession has hit everyone like a ton of bricks. Add financial worries to the stresses of everyday life and you've got a recipe for depression and midnight crying jags while downing a pint of Ben and Jerry's.
In 2010, my husband and I started off the year by both losing our jobs. We welcomed the birth of our daughter and lost my brother at the tender age of 21. Multiple health scares with multiple members of the family (a broken hip for my mother-in-law and heart-trouble for my newborn granddaughter, just to name two)... a family crisis that led to a summer full of hyper, confused and stressed-out kids (and also hyper, confused and stressed-out adults!)... more than $2000 in car repair bills that failed to repair the car... becoming a grandmother when my 20-year-old son started his own family...
My friends and extended family have had to choose between losing their home or losing their business... being forced to find temporary shelter for 7 people while finding funding to de-lead a historic house and repair the frozen pipes this winter... the loss of a beloved sister to cancer... lost jobs and too many small financial tragedies to count...
But I refuse to carry these burdens into 2011.
This year, I will focus on the joys in my life and make an honest effort to help others. I have had a tough year, but there are others who have had a harder, tougher year than I have. And despite my hardships, I have been blessed.
In 2010, I welcomed my new daughter, Mikaela. She is happy, healthy, extremely intelligent and beautiful.
... I also welcomed my first grandchild, Baileigh. She is also happy, healthy, intelligent and beautiful.
... I was able to spend quality time with my step-daughter and step-son, bringing us closer together.
... My husband found a job where he feels he truly belongs and that he truly enjoys
... My sister completed her Associate's degree and began working on her Bachelor's degree
... My younger son got engaged to the love of his life
I have no idea what 2011 holds for me and my family but I make this New Year's resolution now... I will take each day of 2011 as it comes and try not to dwell on the past. I will make an honest effort to reach out to friends and family so I can hold them close and count them among my blessings. I will try to give what I can to others so that I can, hopefully, help make their year a little better as well. I do not have to allow myself to be beaten down by the trials. I am stronger than that. Are you?
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