Last Year a Blur...

2011? Where did 2010 go? As I am sitting here writing again for the first time in forever I realize this whole year seems to have been this way. I blink and another month has flown by! I don't know why this year is so different and why it seems to have gone so fast. Is it because my youngest is in school (PT time as it may be, it's still Kindergarten!) and he has more to do which adds to my already long list of things to do with my older two? Is it because on top of being a pilot, which takes him away from home for days at a time, my husband is now also a volunteer fire fighter so our days are always filled with the "be ready to run out the door at any moment" lifestyle? Is it because I am now on two boards and chair a few school events and desperately trying to get into more of a workout routine that I am was also personally busier this past year? Or maybe my time management skills have just flown out the window!

Well I don't think it's the last one because, except for a few Christmas cards I got everything done last year on time (if there was a deadline) or at least by my own personal deadline. I am so glad that I don't have to work outside the home full time that I am able to do the things I do. It is worth every sacrifice we make in order to do this, and I personally don't think we have to sacrifice a lot. So we drive older cars. They still are safe, run good and we take care of them so they're not rusty old prices of crap to look at. We don't go on vacations every year, but we do go to a cabin a lot (my brother-in-laws) which in itself can be like a vacation. I don't have a lot of "real" jewelry, but I like my Premier jewelry just as much, if not more because I don't have to "worry" about it as it if were real. Most importantly our kids get to do things and be in activites that they want so I think things are perfect!

As I wrote on my Facebook page the other day I have a New Year's resolution. Now don't laugh or judge because it's not the usual "I want to lose 20 pounds," (which of course I do but that's beside the point), it's more profound and reflective than that. Here's what I said:

Keep what's important front & center, let go things that are not; make sure those that are important know they are; make new friends and keep old ones close and remember in making yourself happy you also make your relationships happier and stronger in the end as those who are truly your friends will want that for you.

Sadly shortly after writing this a dear old friend of mine told me she was separating from her husband. So I made sure she knew how I cared about her, was here for her and will help her with whatever she decided will be the right path for her to take. Then I felt even worse as I found myself thanking God that I had such a great relationship and wasn't having to go through that myself...does that make me a bad person? No, I think it makes me human. And this is the first New Year's resolution that Ive made that I am going to seriously and with every ounce of effort try and see this through. Every time I find myself pulled into drama that is unneeded and unnecessary I am going to try and step back from it. Now that doesn't mean I won't listen to the drama as I can't shut it out completely, as it is all around me, but I am going to try really hard to not fuel the fire of the drama so that it grows into a saga. Don't need any "never ending stories."

So as I leave tonight's blog it is with my thought for the day; don't stir the pot. And if need be, take the spoon out of someone else's hand who is as it will only benefit both of you in the end.