Holiday Cheer

The holiday season is winding down, and we topped it off by visiting the temple to see the lights. It was beautiful as always. I am happy to live so near the temple. Tonight is new year's eve and I am eschewing resolutions in favor of looking back briefly to savor this past year. Resolutions sometimes have a faint undertone of implied inadequacy. It is good to set goals and all, but sometimes I need to just remember that while I'm a work in progress, life is good right now. I have a hard enough time staying in an abundance mentaility and counting my blessings. I don't need to dwell too hard on what I don't have because my brain is pretty good at reminding me of what I lack in times of weakness. All the to-do lists for 2007 will come soon enough.

In the meantime, here is my ta-da list for 2006:

Watched my oldest son choose to serve a mission (not really my accomplishment, but I am savoring it nonetheless)
Put an addition on the house (choosing this option instead of buying a bigger house has allowed us to look forward to paying off the house in about 8 more years instead of 20 or 30!)
Finished teaching all four courses of study in seminary
Celebrated my 20th anniversary
Celebrated my 40th birthday
Used the word "celebrated" for both those milestones and meant it!
Made it back to Maine and loved it.
Started teaching my fifth year of seminary
Spent almost 60 hours alone with Eric for the first time in about 7 years.
Made precious new friends
Kept precious old friends
Joined a book club with no meetings and remembered that I am pretty good at reading and writing and thinking about things beyond seminary lessons and my kids' homework!
Continued teaching knitting lessons and at the Stitches conferences
Gained confidence in my photography skills and took opportunities to get better
Enjoyed my family and watched them all grow taller and more beautiful

So, before you jump into next year and start feeling like there's already too much to do, remember what you've accomplished. You're pretty amazing!