I have a tradition that I started about 10 years ago when the idea of going out and celebrating the new year by drinking until the sun came up seemed less than appealing.  I bought a pair of Waterford champagne glasses, a bottle of champagne and spent the evening reflecting, formulating, and writing what my new year’s intentions would be.  Then I’d watch the ball drop, have my final toast, and go to sleep.  I couldn’t handle the thought of “resolutions” since I’ve tried and failed miserably years prior to make a list of promises to myself and then watch as I would break every single one.  I figured that setting intentions was much more realistic since these were plans that I only promised to work towards rather than goals to either succeed in keeping or fail in despair.

I started out this New Year’s Eve completely set on celebrating in my usual fashion.  I stopped by the grocery story after work, bought a bottle of champagne and some appetizers, came home, and declared I was going to stay up until midnight no matter how horrible I felt the next day at work.  This all came to a screeching halt when I fell asleep on the couch at 10:30pm after two glasses and nothing written.  So I am starting over tonight!  Bottle of Champagne, Waterford glasses, pen computer in hand, and football on TV rather than a giant crystal ball!

The year 2018 was full of tough challenges for me personally.  I learned what my boundaries are and what I can and cannot ask of myself.  I worked on transforming my relationship with my kids from angry mother to connected mother.  I defined what I do and do not want out of my life, what I am willing to settle for, and what I’m not willing to compromise on.   I thought about future career goals and registered for my GRE to attend graduate school.  I realized I need to take care of myself in the same way that I take care of my children.  Gone are the days of running on empty without filling myself back up again.  And I came to learn some painful truths about how far I have to go and how much I have to learn about family, marriage, and myself.So for 2019 I only have one intention – to take what I learned from 2018 and apply it to this year ahead.  I woke up in a great mood, smiled throughout my day, and now find myself in an equally optimistic mindset as I write this.  2018 was full of so much learning and I can’t wait to see what wonderful things lie ahead.  Another year older and wiser has new meaning for me.  And if 2019 turns out to be tough, thanks to 2018 I now have the confidence to handle what comes.