Reflections and Resolutions

It’s a New Year! Actually, it has been. For three weeks. There’s no question, 2010 was an amazing year! 2010 showed me a lot of things both about myself and about the people I surround myself with, some good, some bad but each a good lesson.

In February we added to our family with the birth of Mad Max! Our lives have never been the same and I mean that in the most positive of ways! Our family grew in size and strength as we all learned a different way of living life with a newborn in the house. As it turns out, I am much less flexible now than I was when Allyssa was a baby but I’m working on that.

Allyssa… Wow! What a year for her! My baby girl graduated high school in May. I have had hundreds of proud moments with my daughter but that (so far) was one near the top of the list. As I watched Allyssa cross the stage to get her diploma I tried hard to envision her as she was when she had her Kindergarten graduation but somehow the reality of her being a young adult took over and I couldn’t conjure up the image.

In June I moved her in to her dorm and she started a new chapter. Allyssa had a class that day, so I was going to go to the apartment early and she would meet me there afterward. I packed the car on move-in day and drove the 70+ miles in silence. When I got to the school I went to the residential office and got the key. The woman behind the desk said, “You don’t look old enough to have a daughter in college!” With that I burst into tears. It was a long day. I managed to pull it together before Allyssa came home and after the apartment was clean and everything was in its place it was time for me to go back home. Allyssa insisted on walking me to the car, even though I asked her not to since I could already feel the tears coming. As we got to the car I hugged my sweet girl and cried. I told her how much I loved her and how truly proud I was of her. She looked at me and said, “You should be proud of yourself. You got me here.” And with that… I cried some more. I see my daughter mature as the weeks go by and while I will probably always see her as my baby I couldn’t be more proud of the young woman she has become.

2010 was a year of many changes. I added a son and started sharing custody of my daughter with a state college over an hour away. I learned to manage my time at home more wisely and learned how to be okay with the fact that sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day. I learned to truly accept people for what they are and to realize that some people are just not good. 2010 made me a better person and my resolution for 2011 is to continue that trend. Maybe I can update my blog more frequently too!