The First Time in 2013

It has become tradition in our house that on January first, any activity that is done is accompanied by the statement, "This is the first time in (insert year here) that we have (insert activity here)." In sticking with that tradition, today was the first time in 2013 that an alarm was set to wake us up for work an school ending a wonderful eleven day stretch of family time. The morning time was cut back, lunches were packed, back packs loaded, and travel coffee mugs replaced the Fiesta mugs. At the appointed time, all four of us walked out the door for the first time in 2013.

Our eleven days together as a family were just what we needed to recover from the frantic pace that life brought in December. We are rested, relaxed, and ready to face the world again. I accomplished my goal for 2012 by reading a total of 53 books this past year. It feels good. (For those interested, the list is coming in a following post.) Despite the busy schedules and starting work full-time, I was able to keep on track and get it done. When asked whether I would do it again, I would say yes and no. Yes, because I loved the stories and the different genres I exposed myself to this year. Yes, because reading takes me to different worlds which is a much needed escape at times. Yes, because reading keeps my mind open to new thoughts and ideas. However, I hesitate to put this kind of goal in place right away because upon completing the goal, there was a sigh of relief. Not every open minute has to be spent with a book open now. I have missed blogging, writing, and creating and while I was hoping that perhaps my books would give me more to write about, the deadline of my goal got in the way more than it helped.

I have bounced a few ideas around about my resolution for 2013, however, I am unsure of what I want to settle on. Perhaps there won't be anything concrete or perhaps something will come to mind. I would like to get back to blogging and getting my thoughts down if for no other reason then having a record of them for me to refer back to.

With all of that said, for the first time in 2013, I am sitting at my computer writing a blog post, and it feels really good. It is a new beginning, something I needed to have before I could sit down and write again.