Hopes for the New Year

I don't make New Year's resolutions, I stopped doing that when I was still an optimistic youth. The Christmas tree has been taken down, the bags unpacked, and we are home again (at least, temporarily). It was a lovely belated Christmas. I was lucky to spend 5 days packed with activity with my family and friends. We saw a great concert in Asheville and celebrated New Year's Eve out and about with friends (the first time we've gone out on NYE in a long time).

As I sit here and think about the year to come, I have no resolutions, but I do have some hopes.

I hope that I continue to love my job and everything about it - that this peaceful time in my life continues.

I hope and am going to work towards undoing some of the cynicism my job has instilled in me the last year. I want to remain realistic without making assumptions before having anything to base them on.

We hope to be adding to our family in a big way - new dog, new bird, new baby? We shall see what the year brings.

I hope that this year, I will continue to unlearn my long entrenched ways of self-centeredness and become a more outwardly focused person - especially wife, sister, and daughter.

Most of all, I hope that everyone I know and love will have a productive, happy year, that everyone will stay healthy, and that we will all be here to celebrate 2012 together.