Tag: New Year

New Year Lists

januaryHey.

It’s me.

I survived December.

Now it’s January.

Amazing how that happens every year.

Once again I’m having a hard time getting motivated to do anything. 

Last night while Jan and I sat eating our typical Sunday night supper of popcorn and sandwiches, he innocently asked what we needed to get done this week.

I looked at him blankly.

Get done?

Need?

Wait – you mean there’s life after Christmas?

So I shook the cobwebs from my mind and wrote a list.

Can I just say that a January list can not compete with the fun lists of December.

Lists that used to say make Christmas goodies, wrap presents, and pack for for New Year’s Eve at Aunt Sandy’s house now say clean the fridge, call the dentist, and work out.

Nope. No comparison.

Yet – somehow it feels good after the busyness and excitement of the holidays to have such simple, normal tasks to complete.

It feels good to find that routine again, like we’ve settled into the New Year.

So I added a few snowflakes and smiley faces to the list and found some lively music to brighten our attitudes as we tackle January.

My first task is to discover what green and growing things are lurking in my fridge.

There’s nothing like a hazmet suit to greet the New Year!

The End of a Decade…

Oldcowboypicture

It’s the end of a decade today, the first decade in the 2000’s.

Wow- we’ve come along way in ten years!

Do you remember Y2K, Emergency Preparedness and the run on Coleman stoves?

We lived through the horror of September 11, 2001 and saw our country go to war.

We survived Mad Cow disease and the Swine Flu.

Ten years ago I didn’t understand email. I would write my response in a Word document and my husband would cut and paste it to an email for me when he got home. Now I run an eBay business online and I have 2 blogs.

I had 4 babies, was homeschooling 2 of them, living in a hovel on the most beautiful 40 acres of God’s earth.

I carried a diaper bag and planned my days around nap time.

My phone had a long cord.

We watched VHS movies on our VCR.

Steve was Blue’s friend on Blue’s Clues and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was on every afternoon.

In ten years we’ve added one more child and 4 nephews and 8 nieces.

I planned 49 birthday parties and baked 49 birthday cakes to celebrate all 49 of my children’s birthdays.

I made and served approximately 10,950 meals.

I washed, dried, folded and put away approximately 14,600 loads of laundry (give or take a few).

Ten years ago I was teaching Phonics and math facts. Today our text books are much heavier and cover Chemistry and Physics.

My biggest worries then were diaper rash and how to get the little ones to sleep through the night. Now I have kids who drive cars, and 4 wheelers and fly off in airplanes to camps far away.

Wow – we’ve come along way in 10 years.