Happy New Year

It's 10:25 pm. The girls are both asleep (just). John has gone to bed to read. I'm catching up on some blog reading and taking a break from my knitting, which has quickly become my newest obsession. If you read here often, you're probably realizing that every few months I have a new obsession. Knitting. You'll hear about it often for a while.

We spent the evening over at Ron and Meredith's, good friends of ours who we just don't see as often as we'd like anymore. They live in Chelsea, surrounded by deep snow, starry skies and silence. And the occasional bear. Who could ask for more on a New Year's Eve? We tobogganed on the hill in their back yard, ate delicious meat pies and made ice cream sundaes for dessert. We drank Bailey's and coffee in the basement beside the wood stove while the kids played until we packed them into their pyjamas and headed home. It's my favourite way to spend this night of the year: with good friends, nothing fancy, at a warm house, with kids around and home by 9:00.

I'm reflecting on the past year and how many things I've done in the past year that are new to me or newly rediscovered. I just started thinking about the past year, how much time I've spent learning or challenging myself or just doing things I enjoy. It started me thinking about the "new" in New Year and I started to wonder how many new things I've done in the past 12 months. There probably aren't too many but enough to feel that I still crave new experiences and challenges. I know I always will. It's my nature. I need to keep moving, to keep heading somewhere, even if I don't know where that is.

In the past year I've learned how to parent a 3-year-old. I started back to school. I'm (slowly) learning to live on one salary. I started to knit. I learned to make a lot of different kinds of bread. I learned to use a Mac. I learned to manage my blog and put together better posts. I learned to listen better (I think). I learned to better say what I mean. I learned to keep my mouth shut more often and speak up when I need to. I cooked more vegetarian meals. I decorated a Dora cake. I started to stay home more with the kids. I started to play doctor, camping, restaurant, grocery store and learned to do all kinds of crafts. I learned how to involve a 1-year-old in all of these games. I learned how to split my time and my lap with two kids. I learned to control my temper better. I figured out how to talk to a three-year-old. I learned English grammar.

Not bad for twelve months. I wonder what I'll learn, what new things I'll do in the next twelve. I look forward to finding out.