Happy New Year friends!
Oh that wonderful time of the year. When you start thinking, what are my goals For 2018. When the pure exhaustion of the holidays have finally gotten the best of you. The week between Christmas and New Years I found myself bored at night because I had no Christmas cards to send, presents to wrap or menu planning to do. It left me thinking about all of the memories I made with family and friends throughout the year. I got to reflect on lessons I have learned and I started making mental notes for the upcoming year. What do I want to accomplish as a wife, mother, friend and writer? Why I’m making positivity a part of 2018.
If your a regular follower you’ll know that I stopped sharing recipes and motherhood antics because I began to write a book. I’m happy to report that it’s going well and I’m more than half done, no editing has been done of course. It’s made me realize just how far I’ve come with not only my writing but my confidence level in my writing. I’ve hit some speed bumps but I feel confident that I have a good storyline and I’m confident enough to say it will get finished, I’m just not putting a timeline on it. My children are this age once. I may be utterly exhausted most days but I’ve already learned that this age goes by very quickly. I want to enjoy them as much as possible so it brought me to why I started this blog to begin with. To document their lives, to share stories so other mothers could not feel so alone in the craziness we call parenting. My raw honesty is respected by most of the people in my life. I’ve never felt bad for anything that I’ve written and I want my kids to know the “real me” not the “I love one hundred percent of motherhood”. When my kid randomly pukes at 3 am and I’m breaking up fights every other second…..I’m not loving motherhood. I’ve had a few friends tell me that they miss my articles, it makes me happy to know that they enjoy reading them. Then I remembered another comment that seemed to have scarred me a bit. I play the memory over and over in my head because I remember it being a pretty pivotable moment for me because after hearing that comment I stopped blogging for awhile. I felt defeated. I don’t remember the words that were said exactly but it was one mom saying to another mom that if she didn’t want to cry then don’t read my blog. I would never want to make another mom cry over the amount of crafts and cooking I do with my children. She said my writing made her feel badly. I understand how blessed I am to be able to stay home during these years with my kids but it was never my intention to bring another mom down. Actually, my blogging days started because I wanted to bring other moms up. I wanted to form an internet circle of a hug around any fellow mother reading my blog so they would feel that their everyday struggles were my every day struggles. That she wasn’t alone. This past year made me look back and reflect a lot and I can’t let one comment stop me from my passion. Whether I get paid for it or not it’s always been my passion to get my words out there to heal my soul. I want my children to laugh at the days that were hard because I throw humor into the mix, I want them to cry at the fun crafts and silly times we had so they can remember and cherish those memories.
The conclusion is the same. Blogging and getting paid for it is A LOT of work. I’ve met a lot of people over the years that I’ve learned from. I dabbled in getting paid for food reviews, baby item reviews, book reviews, but my passion still lays with parenting and letters to my children. I still plan on keeping it that way. I’ve learned over the last year that social media can be amazing in so many ways but also so very very cruel. My fears are social media will some day crush my children’s spirits (either that or I watch too many lifetime movies!) It’s just that social media has a way of stripping a person down. However, I ask you this one question. Are you the kind of person that cares? Are you comparing yourself to what others are accomplishing with their families? My answer is, no I’m not. I almost got off of Facebook this past year because of these reasons but I thought why should I deprive my dear aunts and uncles who adore seeing my kids grow up just because so and so is the kind of person that takes my comments to heart? Why would I let society win? My loved ones have told me over and over again that my writing is inspiring and beautiful. Those who take it differently are just not made to be my friends. End of story. No harm done, I’m not a hurtful person. Ask anyone, I break at every squirrel that passes my car, I capture the spiders and take them outside (most of them!) and would help any neighbor in a two mile radius! I write so every other parent out there can say Yes! Amen! We aren’t alone! Not for the people that are going to think less of me for being crafty and having the ability to stay home with my children.
2017 was a great year for me and my family. We had a lot of hiccups and a lot of bad parts, but it’s life. I’ve met some amazing people that have already become like family to me and I’ve joined a new community in town that have opened my eyes to faith again. Prayers can never hurt. Time spent at church can only mend the heart not hurt it. I want my children to have answers about death, dying and what happens to us. I want them to know where we come from and the journey that people have taken over the years to get us here. It’s new to us. I always thought I was catholic, I was baptized, made my confirmation and when I asked my mom why, she said she wanted me to be able to get married in a catholic church. I appreciate that but CCD was thrown at me and I hated every second of it but I respect that my parents wanted my faith to become my decision. I thank them for that today because now I can make that decision. I chose to not get married in a catholic church (I got married at a vineyard how me is that?!) So now I finally get to make the decision and being a part of a Christian church the past few months has been one of the best things that has happened to me and my family.
My goal for 2018 is to surround myself around nothing but positive people. People that will do for me what I would do for them. Life is short people. I for one have experienced this way too many times. Don’t you want to surround yourself around the people that you can laugh and smile with, people that you can count on? People that would drop anything to be there for you and your family? People that put you in their thoughts and give the same to you? Yes!!!
What are my goals for 2018?
Write more.
Be more.
Accomplish more.
Surround myself around positive people.
Be the positive person.
Be the role model my children need.
Find work that makes me happy.
Build my confidence back up again to finish my book and not let anyone or anything prevent me from it.
Better my marriage so my children will look for the partners they deserve in life.
Continue a healthy lifestyle.
Be more active with my children.
Show my children exactly what one can accomplish when they are confident and positive.
What are you goals for 2018?
