Hibernating
I feel so much like I imagine a bear feels after hibernating all winter.
My eyes are stunned by the brightness of daylight around me and the busyness of life. My body is stiff and achy.
But I’m hungry. So very hungry.
Photo credit: Rosemary Ratcliff
To say we have been hibernating isn’t accurate in every since of the word. You see, I feel in many ways that the last 3 years have been a season of life that were very busy, indeed, but very focused on one aspect of my life: my family. Elements that were not directly applicable to the survival of my family and to child-rearing, more specifically, had to be set down. Some things I continued to run over and play with for a few minutes every day, whining each time I had to put them back down (such as learning new professional skills via my blog). Time to build and nurture relationships was also extremely tough, though we did make an intentional effort to make Chattanooga feel more like home (our word last year was rooted).
Life on “Pause”
Because we decided to expand our family and add a second child, Tim and I have felt that some aspects of our life have been on “pause” since August of 2011 when we learned we were, indeed, expecting. The latter part of 2011 was consumed with just getting the bare necessities since I was SO sick during about half of my pregnancy. And 2012 was all about prepping for and adjusting to life as a family of 4 (oh, and moving….yeah, we did that 3 weeks before Layah was born and while I was on bed rest). And if I’m being really honest, we’ve probably been feeling this way since moving to Chattanooga in 2010. This is when we left our house behind and became very reluctant landlords (a decision that costs us a few hundred dollars every month). It is when I gave up my full-time job and almost half of our income. I will tell you that making this move was one of the best decisions we ever made. Still, it came with a price.
Spring in the Air
Turning the corner to 2012, when we have no plans to add another child to the family (for good…we are DONE, people!) and no plans to move anywhere, and no plans to do major job changes, well…this year is like that first hint of spring coming. Tim and I are so worn out and so worn thin by our depleted resources and we are so darn hungry for that new season of life.
Perhaps I’m being premature with my word choice. After all, I still have a baby at home and a young preschooler. I won’t be out of the “season of young kids at home” for quite some time. Yet I still feel like the ground beneath us is becoming a bit less frozen for once. And it feels so good.
I’m ready to awaken and to start frolicking a little bit more. I want to enjoy my days a bit more and not simply survive them. I know there will be PLENTY of days this year when I will have to call it good to just keep my head above water, but I expect to have some days where I can actually make some progress on…well…anything. Making progress on ANYTHING will be a move in the right direction this year.
Using Our Word as a Compass
Our word is a great place for us to start when making goals for the year. It is like a compass. But we can’t just choose a word and be done with it. We need to make more specific goals so that we know which areas of our life we are the most eager to get moving on again. For me, I would say the financial area is going to be important this year. We haven’t saved money for retirement since I quit my job, and that just breaks my heart. It is time to work towards changing that as a gift to ourselves and as a gift to our adult children.
Can anyone else out there relate to how I’m feeling this year???
What word are you using to guide you and your family this year? Have you written about it? Feel free to post a link in the comments so I can come read it! Or just share some of your goals and ideas for this year. I’d love to hear about them and encourage you.