Looking forward

The start of a new year is as good a time as any to reflect on what you love in your life, what you’d change, and what you want to leave behind. The hubby and I have been talking about this lately, and here’s what we’re thinking for 2012:

• Family. We have four ADORABLE nephews under the age of 3, plus lots of siblings and parents we see only once or twice per year. In some cases this really cannot be changed – the hubby’s dad lives in France, and one brother and his wife are in Australia. But for family who is closer, we’re going to make a bigger effort to visit more often – not just during the holidays!
• The Kiddos. The oldest is a freshman in college, and the youngest goes to college this fall. We’ll be empty nesters (gulp!). We want to spend quality time with them, as we’ve already discovered that once they’re off to college, parents are superfluous. Or at least, mostly good for paying the bills. Oh well - we are still going to do our best to parent, even if it's from afar. :)
• Each Other. The hubby and I love doing projects together, but sometimes we get so busy and don’t slow down and enjoy what we're doing. We also get frustrated with each other (me especially) and I have a tendency to snarl sometimes. So, not getting stressed out about what we’re doing, and taking time to really BE together, is a priority. That could just mean cooking dinner, or it could mean me going with him to a week-long conference somewhere. But, more of it!
• The House. The really big, huge, gotta-get-it-done projects have pretty much been completed. The roof doesn’t leak, the HVAC has replaced, the plumbing works, the barn is (mostly done), etc. etc. What’s left is a ton of odds-and-ends of finish work, some that will require multiple weekends of work, some that can be completed in an evening or an hour. We want to keep steadily eating away at that list without stressing out about it. We haven’t quite figured out how we’re going to do that yet, and we haven’t even written the list down – I think we’re afraid to do so and will start stressing if we realize how long it is! But we’re motivated, and the End Is In Sight. Now, if the things we’ve already fixed would just STAY FIXED…
• Food. We used to go to the Farmer’s Market weekly, but we got out of the habit. I had a small garden, but didn’t plant one last spring. We also had a bunch of chickens, but we lost quite a few in last summer’s heat. We really want to locally source our food as much as possible, so we’re making a point of going to the market regularly this year. We’re ordering more chicks to increase our flock size again, and… we’re planting a garden! The hubby actually wants to do it this time (usually the garden is all me), so I’m super-excited! We’ve already bought some seeds, as well as some potato starts, strawberry roots, and onion slips. Yeah, it’s late for strawberries (I think you’re supposed to plant around Thanksgiving?), but what the heck? Might as well try it and see what happens.  Gardening is all about trial and error, and we’re going to start trying again!
• The Horses. I want to start taking regular lessons again. Saga’s sound (knock on wood) and so it’s time. I’ve already sent an email to my jumper trainer asking to get on the schedule, and the hubby has agreed that I can make time to do something regularly. So, I’m gonna do it! I’m also hoping to go to a show or two this year – schooling shows, nothing recognized. I just want to have some goals and some fun, no stress please!

What are your thoughts looking forward to the new year?