And now it's 2012...

Last year, I wrote a post with some goals for the new year.  I also talked about everything I was excited about.  It was pretty decent for someone who doesn't really like the idea of resolutions.  But, I've enjoyed looking back on it and reflecting.

First off, I listed five dreams for the new year.  I accomplished two of them.  We had our wonderful vacation, and I really do feel like I had more fun in 2011.  Our cruise was awesome.  We had some fun small trips.  We enjoyed lots of things around home (we're pretty much a master duo when it comes to the kitchen/grill now!).  I feel like I was able to let go and just enjoy life quite a bit.

However, three items were not crossed off the list--a "good" camping trip, running two races, and finishing our kitchen.  The trip got rained out, so we visited my family instead (their lake trip was also rained out that week!).  The races I had planned on were either in November or December (and didn't happen due to the early pregnancy tired stupor I was in).  And, while the kitchen didn't happen, we did get quite a few other projects done including some great improvement in the living room.

On New Year's Eve, Devin and I had the most perfect evening together.  (Actually, it was pretty much the most perfect weekend in it's entirety, but that's not the point of this post.)  We saw an early movie then made a late dinner together and got hooked on a new tv show in netflix.  At midnight, we watched the ball in NYC drop--wearing our pajamas.  After a kiss, we started talking about the coming year.  There are exciting things happening for sure--the arrival of our child being number one on the list.  However, I quickly jumped to being able to use "next year" proclaiming that next year Devin would graduate, we would move, we'd hopefully sell our house, etc.  All these things do in fact happen in 2013, but we just hit 2012!

So, my goal for this year is to focus on living in the present.  I spent soooooo much of my life looking forward, thinking about what's next, and forgetting to enjoy the present.  In grad school, I ended up doing this pretty well for the first few months.  It was awesome.  While I think it's important to plan for the future, I think it's equally important to embrace the present.  I don't want to look back and wish I'd enjoyed my life more while I was living it.  Already I look back and wish I'd let myself enjoy certain phases a bit more.  This year, I'm going to return to seizing the moment.  I'll still be excited about 2013, but I certainly don't want to waste 2012 and all it has to offer.  So, I'm sending out a (sparkling white grape juice) toast for each moment of this year and wishing you all a (belated) Happy New Year!!