New Year's Intentions, 2014

So, another New Year is upon us! Funny, how that happens. I'm quite relieved, I must say, as 2013 has not been the best year for us. We have been through quite a lot this past year, but as 2013 has drawn to a close,  I think we did pretty well getting through it all. The year began with a great loss, the death of my children's father, my former husband, and friend for much more than half my life. As you might imagine, this has had a profound effect on us all... however, in the darkness and tragedy, we have found some light. This light has been an increased awareness of the preciousness and fragility of life. It has really made me think long and hard about the direction of my life, and of my relationships with the people who matter to me. As we move into 2014, I will try to keep those hard-earned lessons close to my heart.

Each year, I make myself a list of New Year's Intentions. I usually begin by looking back at last year's list. Sometimes I am pleased to find that I have achieved some things, and sometimes I find that there are things I have let slide. In looking back at my goals for 2013, I found that I made good progress with following a mostly vegan diet, I made some positive financial decisions (such as refinancing our home at a great new low rate) and I've made a bit of progress toward finding balance between work and family (though, there is still quite a bit of room for improvement in this area!) The one intention that I have failed miserably on is my intention to exercise more in 2013. I did not. In fact, I exercised less. I am trying not to beat myself up about this.

This year, I plan to continue on with some of last year's intentions, while adding a few new ones:

1. Continue on the path toward living Simply, frugally, naturally and intentionally. This has become the overall theme of my life, and so it's been my top Intention for several years running. I think this will probably always be the case. 

2. Move more. As mentioned above, I haven't been so good with this. So, once again, it is my Intention to move my body in a positive way each day. 

3. Stop Yelling. This is a BIG one for me. When the children were little, I made a vow that I would not be a Yelling Parent. As they've grown into preteens and teens, this vow has been broken. I'm not proud of this, and it's something that I really don't like about myself. It is my intention to make note of the triggers which make me want to yell, and to find ways to redirect myself into more positive communication. 

4. Begin laying the foundation for a career which will feed my soul.  There are a lot of things I really like about my current job. I've always loved taking care of little ones, and I love that this job allowed me to support myself and my children after the end of my marriage, while still allowing me to stay home and homeschool the kids. And the commute is awesome... I just walk downstairs! I also love that The Man of The House and I work together, side by side, everyday. (That is my favorite thing!) But prior to this job, I did some pretty cool things. I was an artist. I was a writer. I was an actor, and I taught theater to children. I miss having a job which stimulates me intellectually and creatively. It is my intention to start moving toward something which will fill that void. 

5. Take care of at least one home project each month. Like most homeowners, we have a rather long list of stuff that needs to be repaired, renovated, cleaned out or organized. We took care of some pretty major issues this past summer (all of which were LONG overdue) but with an old house there is always more, and while we were focused on these big projects we did, a lot of smaller things fell by the wayside. It is my intention to choose at least one project per month and see it through. 

So those are my Intentions for the coming year. I hope that 2014 will allow me to continue to evolve and grow and learn. Happy New Year!