A Glance Back and a Good Look Forward to 2014

Here is my look forward to 2013 from last January.  It's a pretty extensive and exciting list.  I accomplished a lot of that list including daily time with God, reading 52 books, eating and cooking good food, making my marriage a priority, going on a Disney cruise, and maintaining a debt free lifestyle while increasing savings.

There are also some areas where I didn't quite make my mark.  My bee hives are a wreck.  I didn't accomplish my goal with Operation Christmas Child.  I don't have a working system for jobs, family time or serving others.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I'm going to revise, edit, adding and subtracting to make a working plan for 2014.  It might also be a great idea to look at this list more than once a year to remind myself of my intentions for the year.

1. continue to spend daily, personal time with God.

2. read at least 52 books.

3. develop a community relations team for Operation Christmas Child by adding one member and one event from each of my target counties.

4. participate in sustained physical activity/exercise at least three times each week.

5. maintain a healthy diet, heavy in fruits, veggies, and healthy choices.

6. continue to provide my family with meals that are healthy and, as much as possible, home made.

7. date my husband and nurture a relationship that will last for another 25+ years.

8. pray with Rob and for Rob daily.

9. create a planned family night each week.

10. enjoy family meals as often as possible.

11.  celebrate Kady's graduation from high school.
12. SHOOPA!
13. provide opportunities and encouragement for family time that is physically active.

14. continue to pray for and with my children each day.

15. nurture closer relationships within our family by providing quality time, activities, and opportunity for interaction.

16. provide quality, personally matched education for each of my children.

17. continue to look for the best curriculum and educational opportunities for my children.

18. encourage reading, writing, independent learning, and personal growth in my children.

19. develop a plan for chores, jobs, compensation and cooperation that works for our family.

20. maintain a debt free lifestyle.

21. increase retirement contributions to 15%.

22. continue at current level of charitable giving.

23. continue college savings for all four children.

24. celebrate our 25th anniversary

25. be intentional about sharing time with friends.
26. complete one family act of service each month.

27.  develop five year plan for the farm which includes raising turkeys, chickens, and grapes.

Resolutions Until the New Year

Today, I spent a large part of my day proving that the cold water in the left sink of the master bath worked.  I also dealt with an appraiser, three realtors, two insurance people, our moving coordinator, our loan coordinator and the director of the soon-to-be-local farm extension.  I sent e-mails, talked on the phone and answered questions from all of the above and my husband.

What I really should have done today is teach.  I should have done math and science with H11, S8 and M6.  I should have read a few more chapters in our advent book.  I should have helped them complete another history lesson. 

For the past two months (who am I kidding?!) FOUR months, our schooling has not been what I'd hoped.  We are getting the majors and sometimes doing the fun things but so much is just sliding.  The littles are not suffering.  M6 is learning to read and her math skills improve daily.  S8 is amazing.  He's conquered multiplication and division.  He loves to read and history is his favorite subject.  They learn new things every minute and if I don't teach them, they teach each other.  The biggers are probably feeling like they've won the jackpot.  My expectations are high but my enforcement is low.  As long as they keep their heads down and I stay distracted, as I have been since August, they have little to do.  H11 is a writer so she writes and reads, willingly.  She'd be happy with books and paper to the exclusion of all else.  On many days lately, she's been living her dream.  K14 is on again and off again.  She's listened to all of Augustine's Confessions.  We've worked through the first 30+ chapters of The History of the Medieval World.  She's completed the first section of Analytical Grammar.  My daughter, who couldn't tell me what a noun or verb was at the beginning of the year last year, is now a master at sentence structure. Physical Science and Latin are limping along from lack of a motherly push.  Again, my distraction working to her advantage. 

I know that being hard on myself is not to my advantage.  Taking myself to task and finding fault in the handling of my children's educations makes me want to go crawl back in bed.  So much of what is occupying my time and attention these days is not rewarding in the slightest.  I haven't gotten a single word of affirmation from any of the realtors, inspectors or coordinators that make demands upon me.   Refusing to give myself a break is not loving or helpful.

To combat this negative attitude, I'm making some resolutions.  These resolutions begin now and last until the new year:  I will acknowledge and be thankful for each bit of learning that is done, even if I haven't done the teaching and the teaching is not intentional.  I will recognize the value of flexibility and use it to my advantage rather than bemoan the fact that things refuse to be routine and scheduled.  I will read to my children as often as possible and will say that it is enough, for now.  I will help my children celebrate the birth of our Lord in a way that focuses on the gift and the sacrifice and the people we love.  I will refrain from beating myself up for not doing more and being more.  I will laugh at every opportunity and smile even more often than I laugh. 

My hope is that with the new year we will find a more peaceful and productive place.  I also pray that with the new year, I retain the lessons that I am struggling to learn at this time and in this place.

New Year Resolutions

Each January 1 provides the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. The temptation to clean out the old and welcome the new is often overwhelming. The limitless possibility of what new could be stretches out before me. The list of complaints concerning the old is endless. Changing from old to new can come with a crush of disappointment when the new mimics the old. Due to past disappointment, I've grown cautious when setting off down the path of resolution.

This year, I have decided that some risks are worth taking and that the old is unacceptable. The new must be different because the old is a mire of inaction and apathy. Any action at all will bring more positive results than paralysis.

And so, I find myself here, doing something new. Talking to myself in public. I'm determined to expose myself in unlikely ways in an unlikely location. As a writer. Writing.

My intention is to write. Daily. To learn about expressing myself and to develop the ablility to express myself well. The reason I'm writing in public is to give myself a measure of accountability. I need a record of my success/failure/progress/lack of progress. I need a measure of myself. This forum is my measure. I'm hoping it will be, in time, a record of growth. I hope to see the kind of results that my children see when they look at the pencil marks next to the door in our kitchen. Last year I was here. Now I'm here. Next year I might be here.

For now, I'm content to have made a beginning. Sometimes the first steps are enough to celebrate.