2016...Full of Grace

And suddenly a new year is upon us. 2016. This year Mila will turn one. In a matter of fact, in just one more day we will no longer have a "baby". I don't know how that's even possible. She will always be our baby. To say last year went by fast is an understatement. This year Luca will turn 5. And start KINDERGARTEN in the fall. My baby boy...in KINDERGARTEN. I can't even. Santi and I will celebrate 9 years of marriage. When I look ahead to the new year before us, the fresh beginning that January always brings, I don't want to make resolutions. Sure I have goals, hopes, and plans. But this year I want to focus on one word. Grace. Grace for myself, for my family, friends, coworkers, students...strangers. We are all a work in progress. We are all fighting internal battles. Some we share openly and others we don't. We all have feelings of inadequacy. Feelings of self doubt. Fears. In the past I have had a tendency to be hard on myself. And honestly sometimes too hard on those around me. Sometimes I expect too much. The expectations I set for myself sometimes lead to those negative feelings of self doubt and inadequacies. They creep up on me and cause me to miss out on God's best for me. So this week, this first full week of the new year, it wasn't perfect. And that's ok. I didn't start the year with a long list of resolutions to abide by. I didn't set myself up for failure, but I am focusing on one day at a time, and doing the best I can each day for me and for my family. And if I fail, there is always tomorrow. This weekend we celebrated Mila's first birthday. I started back to work today with birthday decorations still up. My house still a mess.  A few stray Christmas things still hanging around. I was battling a cold, and Luca missed his first day back at school. I was a little scattered at work, and completely unprepared to jump back into teaching my groups. Luca was wound up in the evening, and Santi got home late. I was tired and my patience were short. I wasn't perfect. I ate better today than I have in the last month. But I had a pop with dinner and I definitely ate more than I should have. I have yet to start exercising again. Our budget isn't perfect and we have some work to do in the coming months. But His mercies are new every morning. And we will get there. One day at a time. I am going to celebrate the little successes this year. And be kind to myself. More patient. More understanding. And I am going to take better care of myself. I am going to help Mila learn to sleep on her own so I can ultimately sleep. One night at a time. And tonight was my second successful night of not nursing her to sleep at bedtime. I am sure I will have setbacks with this just like anything else, but it's not all or nothing. We will get there. One step at a time. This is our year.