It is that time of the year. We are almost to Christmas and with that signal means that the New Year is soon here as well. Although this year like with every year has had its challenges, it also has had some very good points as well.
We will always love you Mom Mom
As we began 2017 we were dealing with the death of my mother in law and trying to get through with everything you can imagine going along with it. We were all over the place physically and emotionally. We pulled through and continue to make strides as we keep her legacy alive.
Kids
Also each of my children’s health has been A1! Let me insert a praise break here. Both of my older kids have asthma and if you have a child with asthma you know that any and everything can trigger things to go left. They were in school all year and they didn’t miss many activities and that in itself is a blessing. Also along with my kids, my son started his first year of grade school aka kindergarten. I am proud of his transition to grade school. He is doing a great job. For my youngest she has been able to transition between daycare and is doing well. My oldest is doing well and is super active in Girl Scouts. I can’t say enough I am proud of this year’s progress!
Marriage
We finally was able to take a long needed baecation. We celebrated 5 years of marriage and although its had a lot of down within our marriage, we are glad to say that we are making it through and are at peace and in love with one another. We had a blast on our baecation. We were able to do what grown folks do, lounge around, sleep in, eat well, drink well, and enjoy some sun and fun. I pray that 2018 allows us to go to a few more places, but 2017 you did your thing. Shout out to my sister in love and brother for keeping our little people as we enjoyed some much-needed time away.
Also of trips and time together we also are getting on the same page. That in itself is a blessing. It’s hard to keep the love flowing from a place of contention. It’s one thing to argue but to have a continual flow of dislike or disagreement and nothing being resolved, it wears you down as a person and wears at your union. We have a few goals that I won’t talk about but just know that marriage is work and we are doing our work daily and checking in with one another more!
Family
Our family have been good. Shout out to a new baby on the way. My brother and sister in love are having a new addition and I can’t wait for the Spring to get here so AT can love on another little. Also shout out to my brother and mom who both graduated this year!! Yall better keep on going and getting your education. Also to my twin who is making some awesome strides in her life and is doing an awesome job raising my niece. Also I am making sure to do all I can to open up more to family. I am not one usually to do that. I like being in comfort of others but there are times when I absolutely need my space. This is why it’s super easy for me to dismiss others quickly. My introvert ways creeps up way more than my extrovert ways will ever.
Health
I have been able to maintain and keep my work out schedule tight. I actually have made changes to my settings on my Fitbit. If you have one you know that you can make it really challenge you to be super active. Shout out to my Fitbit family for the step challenges-yall motivate me to keep moving and claim that top spot. Also this year thanking God for getting that hysterectomy and FINALLY not being anemic. To be able to be cold when you’re supposed to be instead of all day long is a blessing. To be able to not have ice in your cup because ice is life is great too. Also just the general ability to be able to walk around knowing that you are healthy is a blessing. Please understand that so many wish this was their life and sadly it’s not.
For 2018 I will be making or should I say already making changes to the way I work out. When I first got my Fitbit this year, I only set it for 7000 steps even though I was doing more than that. I made the change to at least 10000 steps a day since I am confident with my history that 15000 steps is more likely what I will achieve daily. I also will be doing more challenges within the Fitbit community. I also will be signing up for barre classes instead of Soul Cycle. My doctor has suggested that this will alleviate some of the injuries that Soul Cycle has given me. Not to say that Soul Cycle isn’t a great work out because it is but with me working out 5 days a week, running one day a week, I need to add more core training to my regiment. So that is the goal for 2018 if I could set a fitness goal for the upcoming year. I still will be keeping a journal of my workouts and what I eat. This is not for calorie counting. This is to continue in my Weight Watchers. Any time that I haven’t written things down, I have noticed that I will not be accountable for what I eat. I am looking forward to some new menus for myself as well.
Anxiety
I have talked about this numerous times and I plan on opening up about it a lot more in the future. When I was in college I was the epitome of the college student. The one you could find on top of a bar, never missed a party, always ready for whatever and whenever. I find now that part of my life is downsized, that going out especially doing anything where I attend something by myself makes me freak out. This year, I have stepped out and attended a lot of events by myself. I have traveled a lot more alone and I have taken chances by being more visible. I have named 2018 my personal Eat, Pray, and Love year and with that in mind, I am in the works with a lot of activities that will allow me to attack this anxiety and get passed it.
People don’t even know that I suffer because once I am in a place and I am comfortable I am fine. However I get sick, I feel like I can pass out, I don’t want to go, I try to back out, I go through it often. I know that others like me are out there. Although I have found ways of pressing through it I never want to act as if I am just this bundle of joy all the time. Social anxiety is very real however I choose to be present and push past fear.
Social Media
Listen, when I tell you I could tell you every tea on most of your celebrities trust I could. I could blog on that all day long since just like our lives, they are messy too. However I have taken such a huge step. Often times it doesn’t show up or isn’t trending I won’t really know about it. I have cut the fat on what I watch, what I entertain, who I engage in. This has been super helpful. I am not saying I am perfect but what I will say it has allowed me to be calmer in my own personal life. I don’t feel the need to clap back at things or people as much because I am not watching these images all the time. This is my PERSONAL choice and not one that I would say hey you need to do at all. This walk has always been personal but if you’re wondering the benefits of cutting back, they do exist. I also stop following a lot of pages, etc. I used to make sure I aligned myself with a lot of drama and lately the cut back has served my personal space well. This spillage has done well in almost every area of my life. I let a lot of battles go and just realized that not every battle is mine. Most of the time it’s almost like fighting air. Folks gon be folks.
Relationships
I had the pleasure of reconnecting with my aunt this year. Again this has been over 30 years in the making. Since that reunion I make it my business to be sure that I communicate more with her and do what I need to do on my side when it comes to her. Also I have noticed that I have finally taken more steps to find that some relationships I had in the past have served their purposes. I am not saying that discovering that has been fun. I feel like there were a few snubs, a few disappointments, a few folks that I didn’t realize I missed and will attempt to reconnect with soon. This is a part of adulting that people don’t talk about. Letting go is hard. It is not always easy but it is always necessary. So to the chapters that got closed, I don’t understand it but soon I am sure I will or maybe I won’t. To the new chapters that have opened, I have found some awesome new contacts. There are a few relationships that I closed that I am soul searching to discover if it was me closing it just to be petty or was the pain that was caused needing this close. There is a large chunk that will remain closed. I have made sure that I keep in contact with those that I needed to. I really used to have a bad history of just being a one-sided friend. I have stepped it up because in reality its necessary not just for what those friendships or relationships give to me, but what I give to them as well.
Career
I will be starting a new position within the same company starting at the beginning of the year. Won’t he do it! It’s a bit bitter-sweet but welcoming new challenge. I also interested in continuing to learn more, grow, and always secure my coins. I got a lot of things to do and planned for 2018 and its going to take all of my coins to do it.
This year has been like I said filled with some ups and downs. There are things that have happened that has caused me to figure out my life more. I really just want to drink water, mind my business, keep that credit score going up. continue to be debt free, be an awesome mother, a dynamic partner and wife to my husband, a great daughter, awesome aunt and sibling, make sure my career takes off, and be a great blogger! That alone along with keeping this body fit is more than enough to get me through 2018. So as we soon say good-bye know that I have a lot of goals that are an extension of the work I have been putting in from 2017. I have some travel goals, some more me time activities planned, and just looking for the yearly renew. I have always said and its true, birthdays and New Year Day is always the best time to hit the reset button. I also practice hitting that reset button daily as well.
