It's December!

Although summer is my favorite season (sandals and the beach, why else?), winter gets some points because it’s a great excuse to buy new boots, make and wear new scarves, sit inside and drink Kahlua & coffee. But December is my favorite month of the year – its Christmas and my birthday (and my mom’s, husband’s, sister-in-law’s, and several lovable friends’).

I’m a bit excited this year because it’s a big birthday. In preparation for this birthday, I wrote a list last year of all the things I was going to get done within the next 365 days.

Item #1 was to finish writing the list – you can’t imagine how significant an accomplishment that in itself was, actually finishing something. I pulled the list out over Thanksgiving and was grateful for item #38: Realize that all of this might not get done this year! But, I did get some stuff done. Over the next few weeks, I’ll revisit my list, reflect on the things I did get to and see which of the remaining I can get done real quick.

Done: Dinner out by myself – I know some people cannot imagine going into a restaurant and asking for a table for 1, but as a mom of a busy household, this is one of my small pleasures. Our family dinner plans range from everyone at the table eating at one time to each person grabbing a sandwich and carrot sticks as they pass through the kitchen on their way to their activity. Either way, it’s a harried, noisy, busy event. Contrast that to sitting at a quiet, clothed table, enjoying a glass of wine, getting to eat all the bread in the basket, not having to get up in the middle of the meal to take someone to the bathroom, and reading a good book. This one is going on the list for next year, too.

To do: Regular lunch with parents – My parents moved nearby a few years ago and although I see them often, we don’t get together on a regular basis because of schedule conflicts. Some of those have disappeared this year with all my little people in school, but then my days have filled up with laundry, grocery shopping, housecleaning, bookclub, school volunteering, exercise, and other stuff. We do get together, but I need to do this more often. I’ll keep this on next year’s list, too.