Looking Back

2013 is almost over. Everyone is making resolutions that they will break before January and planning out the coming year. The girls and I have already planned our five big trips and filled in the dates of 2014 with as much information as we had on hand. Dates are reserved and some goals have been set.

However, I prefer to use these final days as a time to look back on the past year and see where I was at the beginning and how far I’ve traveled since that first sip of champagne ushering in the New Year. The journey through life is the most important thing and it pays to reminisce on the path walked so far. Consider it a progress check or a self evaluation. What goals did you meet? Where did you drop the ball? What have you achieved that you set out to accomplish? It’s a time for introspection before moving forward and reevaluating your goals and dreams. Did you grow any? Learn anything new? Did you ever find those keys you lost?

As I look back on the past year, I am amazed at how much we were able to do and how far we came on our journey as a family. We made some commitments at the beginning of the year to reduce drama and stress and for the most part we achieved it. We tossed toxic relationships and strengthened the ones that assisted us in becoming better people. Our home was made into a sanctuary for those who entered even more so than it was as we changed things around a bit and made it cozier.

We traveled quite a bit, as a family, just the four of us, and with our closest friends. We visited family, attended writer’s events, and just explored new areas while revisiting some old ones. Some we’ll go back to while others will remain a section on our digital picture frame.

We also learned to enjoy the moment more, celebrating birthdays, holidays, quiet moments and simply the fact that it was Friday or Saturday. We sat and relaxed, enjoyed a drink at a local bar and with friends or just the quietness of a book. There were more cookouts and less rushing around. There was more savoring of moments than darting to the next activity, more living in the present than worrying about the future.

I was more organized in 2013 than I have ever been. I haven’t arrived to where I want to be, but I made great strides. I published my first novella and have one ready to be published. I posted three blog posts a week at the Mess and made some great friends with other writers and authors.

To date, it’s been one of the best years yet, and 2014 will be even greater. And I owe it all to my family and those friends I hold dear to my heart. The girls have pushed and shoved and the kids have supported and encouraged. With their “You can do it” in my ears, I did what I wanted to do. I followed my dream and never looked back. Because of them, I became a writer. Because of them, dreams do come true.

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