Flying Toward the Future: Thoughts On the Eve of the Eve of the New Year

I'm already thinking hard about the New Year so I just can't wait till Thursday or Friday to write about it. I love this photo of my nephew on the swing. I'd like to take that image of joy in the moment as an inspiration for the new year. He's not worried about falling off,  or what he'll do next, he's just feeling that delicious swooping thrill of soaring up and back. I think I need to head over to my local tot lot and get on the swings for a little while, just to remind myself. Anyway, here is a bit of a list of desultory thoughts that keep flooding through my mind as I consider a new year and a new decade. There's no real rhyme or reason here, just passing whimsies.

• We just paid off a car!
• The last time we paid off a car, it got totalled in an accident and we had to buy a new one after only a few months of no payments. 
• I really hope that doesn't happen, because I have big plans for that money.
• I will have 3 kids in college this fall. 
• It's fun to think of how different they are: 1 will be far away at BYU, one will be here at a community college, and one hopes to be at the Naval Academy. 
  
• I am blessed to be able to deal with that if I'm frugal in other ways.
• It's fun sometimes to be a packrat because I can go "shopping" in my house and always find something "new."
  
• I'm counting on that fact to help me be frugal this year. 
• I almost have my photography website ready to go live. 
• I'm learning that my best thing as a photographer is journalistic-style portraits--real life. 
• This shouldn't be a surprise since National Geographic is my main influence.
  
• Eric started cataloging all my books using Delicious Library.  
• I have so many that I've never read, yet I constantly buy new ones. 
• I'm going to try and stop that. 
• Test and sample knitting have really changed the way I think about the craft. 
• It really is my work now. 
• As a result, spinning has become my escape, and I've returned to weaving. 
• I am so looking forward to getting the quilt I ordered from my Amish friend last year. 
• Another friend designed the colorway so it will be an instant treasure. 
• I really hope to get to Germany this year. 
• Every year my kids' ages go in sets of odd and even numbers: This year it's 23-21 then 18-16-14.
• Man, they are growing up fast. 
• I looked through the visual journal I've kept for many years of clippings of things that I like, and am happy about how my home parallels those instinctive picks-colors, styles, furniture, etc. 
• My home could best be described as one big family room. 
• There is no formality about it whatsoever-I like to think that it invites use rather than mere admiration. 
• That means I want you to come in and put your feet up. 
  
• This year I want to paint the LR/DR, the hallway, daughter's room and the kitchen. 
• I also want to paint and repair the kitchen cabinets and get a new countertop. 
• My dream is to score a display kitchen from Home Depot (all the trimmings for one low price) and re-purpose it for my kitchen.
• My neighbor did that and it is gorgeous.
• I've already made my list of seeds to start this year. 
• I'm going to add one more bed to my garden.
• I'm going to try growing 2 new vegetables, still yet to be determined. 
• I'm considering Brussells Sprouts, a favorite of both hubby and me. 
• I'm also considering Broccoli. 
• So far my rosemary plant is surviving the winter. 
• Thinking about the garden is so fun and exciting. 
  
• I'm all out of baby gifts, so it's time to make some blankies and sweaters and sockies. 
• I have the perfect yarn-soft, natural-colored cotton. 
• My Grandma is coming for an extended visit to my parents' home. 
• She is 87 and getting tired of living without my Grandpa, so I really want to take advantage of this time with her. 
• I feel so blessed that my kids have been able to meet their Great-Grandmother and know her pretty well. 
• I figured out the best reason to get rid of old stuff: It keeps you stuck in the past because you feel like you have to catch up before you can move forward.
• I'm happy about letting myself off the hook to catch up on everything in the past.
  

 I think I've gotten enough out of my system to be able to go to sleep now. I'm sure more will come, but in case I don't get back here, Happy New Year and may your own list of thoughts  reflect who you really are and a certain satisfaction with your life.