The Beginning of a New Year

After another long drive, we arrived at our home this evening. The roads were much less dangerous on the return trip and I was so grateful. On the long drive today I had plenty of time to reminisce about the last year. At the beginning of 2012 I chose the word embrace to guide me through the year. It turned out to be a very relevant word in light of all the changes that our family faced. In early March, we welcomed our third child who was born at home with the help of a wonderful midwife and doula. We celebrated the marriage of my sister and her (now) husband in late June. Then quite suddenly and surprisingly we sold our home and moved to another town for my husband's work.

And here I am, in a new town at the beginning of a new year. I am not sure what kind of adventures, struggles and joys await my family this year. There are so many unknowns and so many things I want to know. For this reason I think a good word for 2013 is patience. St. Frances de Sales said that we should "have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with [ourselves]" his quote goes on to say that we should "not lose courage in considering [our] own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew". This, I think, is a great quote for the beginning of the new year.