I've never been a big fan of New Years Eve. Or big into New Years Resolutions. The combination of drinking and goal setting into the wee hours just seems like a really bad idea. Mastering Tae Kwon Do, learning Mandarin and navigating the Cape to Cairo route...on a bike all seem like fabulous ideas when your liver is digesting a vat of red wine.
I do have very fond memories of various New Years Eve parties growing up (Barney's at Gold Reef City, Greensleeves and Bazley Beach) and I'll never forget my first with Ryan. And his cousin Wayne. I think there comes a point in your life when the end of years start bluring into one another and this usually ties in when it's no longer a mystery who you'll be kissing as the clock strikes twelve.
But I think New Years Eve celebrations from here on in are going to be a little bit different.
The year twenty thirteen has been a magical year for me. It brought with it some incredible changes. Obviously the highlight of this year was the birth of our little boy. No doubt about it. I remember saying to someone in early 2012, before Ryan and I decided to start family, that I didn't want to have a baby in the year 2013 because it has 13 in it (I'm not superstitious, I just like round numbers) not only was our little one born this year but he has the most unique birthday imaginable! I healed a lot this year too, after carrying enough excess baggage that would've made a Kardashian look as if they were traveling light. This was a really important to me, to leave some things behind before I embarked on my journey as a parent. Although if the baggage had been matching Louis Vuitton I may have held onto it a little while longer.
One of the most significant changes in my life this year was the fact that Ryan had the most significant change in his; leaving the company he'd been with for a decade and which also spanned our entire relationship. Talk about a white knuckle moment for a hormonal pregnant woman!
The year twenty fourteen now beckons. I knew, before Oscar made his appearance, that it's going to be THE year of change. I didn't realise that I'd have an epiphany hours after giving birth though. It might've been the combination of pain medication, adrenaline and pure euphoria but as I looked at my first born shortly after 15:30 on the 09/11/13 I knew that I wanted to change my life entirely so it revolved around the little bundle wrapped in my arms. And the only way to do that is to pursue the things that bring out the best in me. So next year will see me do just that, that's what maternity leave is intended for anyway.
I don't know exactly what next year will bring. I do know that it will be one of significant change. We have two very important ingredients to make it so; time, we have the time to pursue the things we are passionate about. Ryan and I are also very fortunate that we have the time, most importantly, to spend with Oscar, something we're already so grateful for. The other is each other; I know that there is no other person on the planet that I'd rather have by my side next year and the year after that...and the year after that...and, well, you get the idea. Next year sees us celebrate seven years together and if I think about what we've achieved as a couple and as individuals in that time, I'm genuinely proud. And incredibly excited to see what will happen next.
Next year sees my Granny celebrate her 90th birthday. A decade shy of a century. Our only living grandparent, who this year made it her mission to keep up to date with my blog. My Granny, Rhoda, raised three boys, so it will be her that I turn to next year for advice on how to raise my little man...or how not to when I hear some of the horror stories of what the three of them got up to growing up! One thing my Granny taught me, silently, is not to hold onto regret, to say what you feel because you might not get a chance to say it at all.
If I think about my life and hopefully I have inherited some of my Grannies genes that will allow me to see my 90th birthday too, then I'm only just over 1/3 of the way done. There is still a lot of life to live. And now we have a little person to get started on his own journey into the big wide world. How exciting is that?
So if you're reading this and it's still New Years Eve (or even if it's not) don't think about what your goals are for next year or who you'll kiss at midnight (if you have a significant other it better be that person rather than some random stranger) or how the next 365 days will unfold.
Live each day as if it's January 1st and you're only 1/3 done; with new promise, rejuvenation and very little excess baggage.
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