My goodness, 2017 is actually here.
We all needed a little Christmas to prepare for this New Year. We had a lot of Christmas, and it was glorious.

We have done basically nothing with our week off. It jives with my own inner mantra for the next year. My feelings about how to live this next year are still a jumbled mess, but I am working on sorting them out. They include the words on this list. I had a professor once who suggested writing lists when I couldn’t write accurate sentences.
2017 Concentration List
Less
Stop
Breath
Patience
Work is not my entire life
Read
Cook
Eat
Enjoy
Yoga
Find Joy
Slow down
Watch for laughter…listen
Listen
Smile
Mindful Mothering
Move
Sleep
The data person in me is a little agitated by this list, because half of it is not measurable. I can measure the meals I cook, the yoga I practice, and the smiles I capture. I can do that. Some of this list I can’t measure, and it is an exercise for me to remember what I am assigning value this year.

Our 2016 was stupid hard. I did a lot of yelling, and not enough sleeping. I could resolve in 2017 to yell less, but that is not really a goal, because it is not sorting out the root cause of yelling.
I’m determined to live a better year. Mostly, I am determined to smile more.