Well if the World's Gonna End and All...

I thought I'd just snub the whole New Year/post-about-the-New-Year thing, since that would just be so unoriginal.  But on the eve of a brand new year, what else could I be meditating on but the closing out of what has been an oft-challenging and trans-formative 365 days and the welcoming in of all things fresh, the chance to reboot?  I feel I would somehow be remiss if I didn't pause for a moment, turn and curtsy to the good and bad of 2011 (and it's all good in the long run, isn't it?), and appreciate the sun's rising on 2012.


By the way, this is one of the images that comes up in a Google image search for "2012"

Uhhhh.  Yeah.


So anyway, this is what I plan to focus on in the coming year (thought I'd better try to squeeze a little more out of this year if this is to be the last :P ):


    ~Make financial goals: living within my means and working to generate more income (god I hate that phrase--it's sounds so Rich Dad, Poor Dad (not that I've ever read that book so I really shouldn't judge), possibly even pay down some extra principle on my student loan.


     ~Continue Writing: the end of 2011 brings good news in that way, what with pieces written and actually submitted.  I've finally grown the ovaries needed to start putting my stuff out there :)


     ~Potty-train Kalil: Ugh.  Just the thought.  How is a mom supposed to do this with a boy?  I'll worry about the complications of making pee-pee with boy parts later, but we really need to start making headway with #2.  So far all invitations to do a poopy on the Sesame Street potty chair I bought some time ago have been met with a polite but firm "no, thank you."


     ~Enjoy my second chance at single life.  Of course single life is something different entirely when you're a mom.  I certainly don't mean single life in the way I knew it before I got married, but now that I've known married life, I think I can appreciate single life in a different way.  It's nice to again be able to explore all the things I want to do with my free time without having to come to a consensus on it with anyone else.  When my free time is spent with Kalil, my choices are dictated by what is appropriate and what would be enjoyable for him (as is the case for every parent); it's a small but significant consolation that--when I have to be apart from him--I can spend the time how I choose.  (I realize some married folks have mastered the ability to do this and be married at the same time, but I did not)


     ~Find a nice volunteer opportunity:  It's been years since I volunteered anywhere, and talking with a friend yesterday got me thinking about it again.  I think I can make a twice-monthly commitment these days; it would certainly be more interesting and rewarding than some of the time I waste online or doing other pointless things.


Um, I think that's a pretty good start.  I can add to it a bit though: get reacquainted with my intuition, hear more live music, dance more, read more, exercise more, keep laughing, learn new recipes (and get Kalil to try them), take a real vacation to somewhere far away, learn some video editing, stay in touch, at least flip through all the magazines on my desk, get prints of and frame more pictures.


This isn't too much to ask in the course of a year, is it?  It's nothing crazy (except maybe the faraway vacation), just requiring of extremely good time management (nooooooooooooo!).


And hey, this is what I wish for my son, myself, and you in the coming year: continued growth, peace in our hearts and minds, clarity like we've never known, and the exploration of happiness.


Here, let's toast to 2012 with the song nobody understands and which makes most of us want to cry:

Happy New Year to you and yours :)