a new year

Happy happy New Year everyone!  We had a lovely autumn and beginning of winter.  I think we were trying hard to spend as much time all together as possible before our first little chick left the nest.  Oh my!  Bring on the tears!  I don't know if we'll ever all live together under one roof again and that thought is a tiny bit depressing, but what can you do?  I dropped her off in Idaho last Friday and when I called on Sunday evening I asked how she was feeling.  She said, "Mom, I know I'm in the right place."  Such a comforting sentence for a mama.  I was so worried, dropping her off in a place filled with only strangers, that she would be so lonely and scared -- not at all!  She has great roommates, a nice apartment, kind and helpful professors... such a relief!  And she hasn't even seemed annoyed when I call or text.

::Saying goodbye at the airport -- these were the last photos since I didn't get any of her apartment, etc.  Lame of me, I know.

 ::Ibby was trying so hard to not cry!  When I got home she told me that she was so excited to be upstairs sharing a room with Lulu now and then she started bawling.  I said, "You miss Ella don't you."  "Yes!" she wailed.  Indicating that the trade off wasn't necessarily worth it.

 ::Charlie being a goofball!

I just got back from our trip out west on Tuesday evening so I hadn't even started thinking about New Year's goals and resolutions yet -- one thing at a time -- but as I thought about some things this morning, there is a lot I'd like to work on.  I think a word I'd like to use this year is "Act."  Not as in playacting or pretending, but as in actually doing all of the many many things I think about doing.  I need to lose some weight -- so I'm going to!  I need to not waste so much time -- so I'm going to have an actual plan in place for my days and work on some side goals that will require me to plan my time better.  And most importantly I want to Act on the nudges and promptings that I get instead of ignoring them.  This is the most important one.  

I had to give a talk in church on December 30th and the topic was, "The Future is Bright" and I really believe that it is.  Come what may, if we are living right and doing our best there is no room for pessimism, anger, negativity, fear... Here is to a great year!