Happy New Year, friends!

I realized this afternoon while suffering from the hangover of the year (so glad I got it out of the way early) that I hadn’t celebrated NYE since 2008-2009. So really, my hangover today was making up for seven lost years. No big deal.

F attended his first New Year’s Eve party last night at the fire hall in our home community. It was a treat to spend an evening with friends and family. It was an even greater treat to drag Mum out past 10 pm – and I do mean drag. She didn’t want to go at all, but I’m inclined to believe she had fun. The night was so enjoyable that it’s making the thought of returning to our life in Halifax more painful. Although it’s quiet and remote and, truthfully, a little boring, home is always home. I’m at ease here. I forgot how that felt.

I don’t really make New Year’s resolutions. I set goals for myself throughout the year, and I try to be introspective often – asking myself what’s missing in my life, what I really want and how I can be a better me. But I do love the idea of having words for my year. Words I can say aloud or to myself when I need to be reminded of the year I want and the person I want to be.

This year, I’ve chosen three words and they are tied to a desire to be more of each of them. They are words that I have been saying to myself often over the past few months.

Patience. The virtue I lack most, I know I need to find patience more often when interacting with F, but also with myself.

Present. I need to be more present in my life, in my work, in my relationships. I’m often distracted by work emails in the evening when I should be focused on F.

Strength. Not only physical and emotional strength but the strength of the bonds I share with loved ones. Sometimes we forget how strong a friendship is – or we neglect to maintain it – and I am only as strong as the people I surround myself with.

Whether you have set a resolution for yourself, chosen words to live by or you’re uninterested in the whole thing, I wish you love, light and happiness in 2016 and beyond.

XO