It's time for another edition of my way-too-long NYE post. I'm realizing that once again, I have neglected to write much this year, at least in the traditional Blog or journal sense. What I did this year instead, however, was checked in weekly, sometimes bi-weekly, sometimes semi-monthly, with a journal of ongoing intentions and reflection. It's been kind of an amazing year in that sense. Like most prior years, I checked the last two NYE Blog entries to see where I was at and how far I've come. I spent some time last night journaling about what I want the year ahead to look like.
My word or intention for 2024 was "Growth", and I believe that I did indeed grow. I grew in how I approached my spiritual practice. I continued to learn so much about my inner self and the person that I want to be. I grew in that I learned more acceptance for myself - acceptance for my past mistakes, acceptance for where I'm at in my life, and acceptance for what I can change, what I can do to empower myself.
I grew professionally as I started a new job this year, which enabled me to do things that I've never done before, such as taking my kids on our first family vacation (that wasn't a road trip to visit relatives). I've learned so much in my new role, and I'm so excited to continue to grow my skillset with this company.
I continued to grow in my role as a mom - I'm so grateful to be able to watch these amazing children grow and learn, and to learn what they need from me so that I can be the best mom for them. I know I have a long way to go in terms of supporting my oldest and her needs with ADHD, but I'm grateful that we started the process this year, and that we are working towards what she needs to be supported at school and home.
I grew a whole TikTok account I had never planned on making public and just kind of went for it. That's been wild too! I don't make much money from it, but it's fun having a different way to expand my creative wings.
I'm also so grateful that I've gotten back into reading this past year. It may seem counterintuitive, but I can also thank TikTok for that as there were whole fandoms built into the new series' I was picking up, and that's been pretty fun too.
I also looked at my journal entry from December 31st, 2023 - not the long-winded NYE post I put out publicly, but the journal entry I made about what an ideal day in the future may look like. I was both elated and surprised to find that numerous things from that "ideal day" had actually come true this year. It was such a beautiful realization. And while there are other aspects of my life in which I am learning to be more accepting and patient about, I decided to write another entry about what my future may look like a year from now. And through that process, I found what I want the word for the upcoming year to be - the overall intention.
As per usual, I have no intention of creating lofty goals or resolutions for the year ahead; however, I would be remiss if I didn't at least admit that I am setting out to do some things that I want in my life.
To start, my word or intention for the year is "Balance", and that applies and is going to apply to many aspects of my life.
I'm seeking out more balance in how my kids and I approach screen time. My oldest has called me out recently for being on my phone so often, and I feel like I'm seeing messages (literally) loud and clear to "put my phone down". So, finding that balance will be a focus for me. My oldest always asks why she can't watch TV more, and I tell her it's because it's not good for her - but it's not good for me either. One reason is because when we're glued to our screens, we're not spending as much meaningful time together, and I don't want to miss out. So we're going to do more activities and less screen time. I can't say we'll cut screen time altogether, but we're going to figure out that balance together.
I'm also looking to find more balance with how I approach spirituality. Early in the year, I was putting so much energy into my practice that I sort of burned myself out a little bit - I took a huge step back, but that wasn't really where I wanted to be either. So I'm learning what ways I want to check in with myself in a way that feels both meaningful and timely. And that is the energy I want to bring into 2025.
I'm also going to be balancing myself with work a bit more - I found myself working late evenings a lot this year because there's frankly so much to do, but my supervisor has told me that she does not want me to burn myself out (and of course I agree). I want to make sure that I'm giving myself more time to rest my brain, but I also want to make sure that I'm incorporating more movement into my day. I have this habit of just sitting in front of my screen all day, which I did nearly this entire year, and my body has felt repercussions from it. I was in a really good place physically in 2023, so I want to get back to that. Maybe not quite as obsessive as I was with working out in 2023 (again, there's a Balance I'm seeking here), but definitely in a way that feels aligned for me and to help with pain management.
Lastly, in terms of Balance, I'm going to find more Balance with my time on social media. Time with kids aside, I probably spent more of my private time on social media this year than any year prior. Even taking into account how much time I spent journaling this year compared to last year, I still spent any other time glued to my screen. I'm not sure what that's going to look like yet. Maybe I'll set timers in the evening, maybe I'll set a goal to only browse when I'm walking/cooling down from a workout on my treadmill. But that's an area where I do have a lofty goal.
Other stay goals include continuing to read and enjoy my love of reading. Maybe even read more since some of my reading included re-reading Wheel of Time again (I started in early November for comfort and I just can't put it down). I want to read more things I haven't read already. I also want to try to read things outside of the Fantasy genera (this is a tough one for me, so we'll see). I also want to cut back on coffee, and drink more tea instead. And I want to start to try to garden this spring. I've started to collect various things like seeds and such, so we'll see how that goes with my black thumb - but I can't learn to do something without at least trying. So I'm going to try! Lastly, I want to find more opportunities to grow and contribute to my local community, to connect with other like-minded parents, and to find opportunities to help people whenever possible - I'm not sure what that looks like yet, but I am putting that intention out there for me to reflect on.
And that's it. I'm so grateful for my family, and I'm so grateful for my close friend this year. Despite the ups and downs, and the things that made the tail end of the year hard, I'm grateful for this year. I'm grateful for my growth. I'm grateful for where I'm at in my career. I'm grateful for my house and for learning new things. I'm grateful that I feel in a good place with my mental health (despite ups and downs there this year too). And I'm grateful that despite opportunities to exercise and eat a bit more healthy than I have been, that my physical health is still good as well. I'm truly so fortunate.
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