Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Year, New Beginnings?

First of all...HAPPY NEW YEAR! :) I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday :)

Second of all...I never understood the saying, "New Year, New Beginnings." I mean, you can vow to start over and be a better person each year. But I am a firm believer that you should never forget or regret the past. There are several reasons I believe this: the first reason being that you should forgive, but never forget. The saying "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me" really rings true with me. I truly believe that everyone deserves a second chance. But I also believe that if you forget what has happened in the past, then you are not LEARNING from the past. And that brings me to the second reason, which is that if you live with regrets, that means you are not learning from your mistakes. I choose not to regret the things I have done -- I choose to learn from them. When I was 16, a dear friend of mine was in such a low place that he decided the problem was not temporary...that it was never going away...that it was something he could not live with. He took his own life on March 1, 2001. I will never forget that day...and I will never forget that dear friend. And it was at the tender age of 15 that I made the decision to never regret -- to make mistakes and make lots of them, but to LEARN from them. And so far, I have done a pretty good job of not living with regrets. I have certainly done a good job at making mistakes...even making them 3 or 4 times just to be sure that it was a mistake :) It is also because of this dear friend that I choose to love without conditions -- to take the good with the bad and the fun with the not so fun...I am all in whenever I am in a relationship (and I don't just mean romantic...I mean friendship, relationship, family, etc.). This has a lot to do with not living with regrets. I don't want to look back and say, "If I just would have done..." or "If I just would have showed them...". Nope. I will do it -- I will show it and say it, whether it be good or bad, because I am all in. No conditions. That is not love. I Corinthians 13 says that "love is not easily angered; it has no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." ALWAYS. No conditions. It never has a record of wrong. It is not conditional. If it has conditions, it is not love. Period.

I guess the point of this is to learn from my mistakes not only as a parent, but as a person. Making sure I put first what should be put first -- my duties as a mother. Now, I have talked before about how each parent needs their "me" time and how couples should make sure to make time for "date night" and not get lost in their jobs and children and their children's activities...but ask those people why they do those things and they not only do it for themselves, they do it so they can be a better parent and set a better example for their children. So, for 2013, I am going to try my hardest to be the best mother I can be -- make as many mistakes as possible so I can know what is the best for my daughter and I and make sure I put being the best mother I can be FIRST. Anything is icing on the cake. An added bonus. I also want to do something superficial (I think that is required when it comes to resolutions) and go to at least one Zumba class (or other work out class) a week and pay more attention to what I am eating. It sets a good example for Emmalynn that I care about myself and I care about her and what we put into our bodies.

I feel as though this blog has been sufficiently serious for a resolution and "reflection" blog. Now...some fun pictures from my baby's 3rd Christmas :)

Big Girl Excited for Christmas :)

Riding in her new car and LOVING it :)

Walking in her new Minnie Mouse light up heels :)

Here is to new friends, new experiences, putting aside our fears and living out lives in 2013! I can't wait to see what it holds :)