CELEBRATING SMALL VICTORIES

The new year...

twenty-eleven....2.0.1.1

The year that seemed so far away when I was a child...and when I was a teenager....and again when I was a young mother is now here. I don't think I have ever given this year a serious thought until now.  2010?  Maybe?  But 2011 was just too far out there to consider.  

I don't think in 2001 that I even considered where I would be in 10 years or what I would I would be doing or even who I would be at that time. It seemed so far away to me and yet it is not only here but we are six days into it. 

As I have gotten through the major changes of my life that took me through the last quarter of 2010 and I have made it through the holidays and the few decorations that we put up this season are all stowed away, I am left to consider this new year in all of its wonderful possibilities. I am considering this beautiful new place that I have landed in to live and I am considering why I moved here and what could God possibly have for me to do in this new place and with all the changes that have happened in my life, who am I? Better yet, who does He want me to become? It may seem like odd questions for this 43 year old lady to be considering.  In fact, in some ways, it seems odd to me too; however, when I seriously start thinking, I realized that all of these questions are perfect for this time in my life.  I am so hopeful about this year.  I am so excited to see what is in store for me and for our family.  

I've had a few minutes this week to glance through my ever growing Google reader at your blogs and through blogs of people that I follow that have no idea that I even exist and the common theme for 2011 is What is your word?.

Candace, what is your word? 

I've never been one to make and keep resolutions.  The few times that I've made the usual ones that everyone seems to make this time of year, I have failed to keep them.   I stopped putting myself through that years ago.

What I have vowed to do this year to make this different than any of the other years is to be present in every moment.  I've spent so much of my life wishing it away.  Wishing for Friday and the weekend....wishing for holidays....wishing for snow days....waiting for summer to be over and that first taste of fall to arrive.  I'm done with all of that.   This year I am going to be present in every moment and enjoy what God is doing in my life at this time.  I will never have another moment like the present.

"The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. 

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

-Alice Morse Earle

This week I have kept that in mind as I focused on the present and decided that with every choice that I am presented with throughout this year that I will make the decision that I possibly can.  I will attempt to make better decisions about the food that I feed my body.  I will attempt to make better decisions on how I spend my time.  I will attempt to make better decisions on going to bed earlier and spending more time with those that I love in wonderful new ways.  I attempt to make better decisions in terms of getting out of the house more and being active and experiencing my wonderful life.  With every good decision that I make, I will celebrate that small victory.  For that moment, I have chosen wisely and the victory is mine.

Won't you join me?