2013

The quiet of tonight seemed like a good time to sit down and do a post about the new year. For some reason, the year, 2013, seems unbelievable. Maybe it's the fact that when I was a teenager, in the 1960's, a year with 2000 in front of it seemed so very, very far away. Yet here we are 13 years after the millenium. Life is amazing to me now. I knew I wanted to get married and have children. I wanted them to grow up to be wonderful people (which they did) and to have great lives of their own. Nothing prepared me for the joys of grandmotherhood, though. My greatest blessings are those babies and the one soon to be here.

2013 holds many hopes, dreams and challenges for me, I'm sure. Right off the bat, my son has heart surgery scheduled for the 10th. He had mitral valve replacement and a pacemaker insertion when he was 14. Now there is leakage around the valve which needs to be taken care of. The leak is rated severe. Luckily, the surgeon who will be doing the surgery developed the repair process and that helps somewhat. The Hubs and I will be going down to GA on the 9th and staying at least until Sunday. This procedure is done as a catherization so it's not open-heart, but there are still risks as in all surgical procedures.

Also, Abby's baby is due on January 28th. I am so excited and eager to meet this new little one. It's hard to believe that it is so close. It seems like just yesterday that she called and gave me the good news. So the year starts with a challenge and a joyful time for me.

I'm not much on making resolutions simply because I'm not very good at keeping them. My practical side says why make them when I know I'm going to forget about them by the second week of January. But this year, I have decided to, if not actually make resolutions, to at least set myself some goals to try to achieve.

All the heartbreak and destruction of 2012 made me realize that kindess is something that we all can do and it doesn't cost a dime. So my first goal of 2013 is to try to do one random act of kindess each month. I hope I can do that more often but at least once a month, I want to help someone and make their day a little more cheerful. It's not something that I will blog about because I personally feel that acts of kindness are better if they are not broadcast about. It will be enough that I know what I did.

My second goal is to visit my children and grandchildren at least once a month. This shouldn't have to be in my goal list but given my health issues, I never know how I will feel. So my plans are to just go when I'm feeling relatively good.

Third on my list is to read at least one book a month in 2013. This will be a rather easy goal to accomplish since I have a Kindle. I have always loved holding a book in my hands and losing myself in the pages but over the past few months, it has become harder to do that. My hands and wrists become weary and achy while trying to keep the book open, especially the longer, thicker books that I so enjoy. Being able to read on my Kindle has made all the difference and I think, as long as I can enjoy reading, it is well worth it.

The fourth item should be easy to do, also. I want to be really crafty this year. I have so many projects swirling around in my head and on my Ravelry list, that I could work each and every day and still not get them done. I'm not putting a deadline on myself for this because, again, my hands, elbows and shoulders don't always cooperate and I have to lay anything I'm working on aside for a few days at a time. But I want to be productive and have more FO's this year. All the creativity in Blogland is so inspiring and just makes me itch to get in there and do stuff.

That's pretty much it for goals. Of course, there's always lose weight, walk more, be more organized, etc, etc, etc. but these are the "resolutions" I always fail at. So this year, one day at a time, I am going to try to assess where I am and to improve. Step by step, I hope to be an improvement over my 2012 self. But the goals I have put down in my blog will be the ones I concentrate on most.

Happy New Year to you, all my bloggy friends. I hope the new year brings you joy, love, laughter, and good health.

Hugs,
Sharon