December Wrap Up: A Year in Review

Peaks and Valleys.

Somehow I find myself at the end of December already. With the gift-getting, the wrapping, the decorating, the meal preparations, the travel plan organizing, it is easy to get swept up with the season and forget that our year is coming to a close. Since I have a few moments to spare (not really) I thought I would take a moment to reflect on this past year.

This year has had incredible highs and lows around our house. I can't take anything for granted, and I found myself thrust into feelings of gratitude one minute and sadness and anxiety the next. This blog is almost a year old now, and although it has not blown up by any sense of the imagination, it has been an awesome outlet for me and has served a very important purpose in my life; I started something, and I didn't give up on it.

This is HUGE for me. I am a planner, not an execution specialist. I have great ideas, but often-times allow fear to hold me back. Fear of failure, fear of judgement, you name it. I stepped out of my comfort zone, and made a commitment to myself that I kept. Go me, one point for the Nerd Team.

In January, I watched someone I love suffer through the loss of their two year old baby girl. I watched as she navigated this nightmare with grace and love and I stood and had my own reality shook and made a vow to myself to NEVER take a moment with my children for granted. This tragedy forced me to acknowledge my own fears and anxieties and highlighted the areas of motherhood that I knew I needed to work on; my patience with my girls. What a gift they have been to me. My saving grace.

I watched my daughters best friend lose her Dad in a car accident last month and Swell L's anxiety has spiked because of this, and for a few weeks she did not want her Dad to leave for work. She still tells us she loves us whenever we leave the room, so we "always know." My faith in God has been rattled and I find myself for the first time, without a compass to follow, not without faith, but an aimless wanderer in search of the truth. I'm a seeker, with the optimism to hope for the best. There is a God, I'm just not sure which building he likes the best.

I have completed a few children stories I have been working on, a lot of stories actually. Stories that I started years ago, were all completed and edited this year, ready for submission. I've set goals and followed through. You have no idea how out of character this is for me.

Peaks and Valleys.

I'm prudently optimistic about the coming year. I feel like a work in progress on a constant basis, and I have come to realize that this is okay. That's the point to this life isn't it? To learn, to grow.

Do I make resolutions? I used to, and never met a single one. This year I will make concrete decisions and stick to them. I will be kinder to others and to myself. I will not take ANYTHING or ANYONE for granted.

Merry Christmas from all of us here at domesticdarling.com, may your coming year be fruitful and full of love.

What has your past year looked like?

Care to share your peaks and valleys? We're all in this together, comment below. :)