1. Workout/take a walk at least 5 days a week.
Well, this for sure didn't happen. I was doing pretty well at the beginning - really well for the first couple of months... and then I fell off the wagon and didn't get back on. The good news is that I still weigh less now than when I started my time off a year ago, so I guess that's something. I'll need to make sure I take a 15 minute lunch to walk the halls or outside and around the building or something just to get a little bit of exercise when I go back to work. It's important.
2. As I try making new recipes for the family, I will compile a recipe box so that by the end of the year, I'll have enough ideas for making dinners for the family when I go back to work.
I DID try out quite a few new recipes, and now I do have a bunch that I can use for crock pot meals so that I can have dinners ready when I get home from work. That part wasn't a total failure. I'm definitely less apprehensive about cooking now and much more willing to try to make new things. Squeak also now eats beef. While I'm not sure I can take credit for that one, it's great that she is expanding her horizons when it comes to food!
Well, this didn't happen. However I am 50 pages into a memoir that I feel really good about. I'm confident that I will have it finished before the end of the school year.
4. Start a successful business (More about this soon, I promise).
This was a complete bust. I trusted someone that I thought I knew really well, but after some red flags, some research, and a bit of professional investigating, I found out that things were not as they appeared. So glad I figured it out sooner rather than later. Some things are better left in the dust and uncovered! I'm not sure that I will ever start a business, or that I have any desire to for that matter.
5. Read 100 books (for me - Magic Tree House and picture books will not be counted here - however Young Adult DOES count). I've already read 4 (soon to be 5) in two weeks. I think this is do-able as well. Part of my reason for this goal is that when I return to work I want to be more familiar with books that my students are going to want to read so that I can be more prepared to help them with reader's advisory. I reached my goal of reading 100 books today! Just in time! I've done this before, but not while I had kids. So, reaching this goal is pretty significant. I feel like I've got some good current titles to recommend to my students, so that makes me happy :)
6. Lastly, I'd like to take a few road trips with the family :)
Other than going to Disney for a week (we flew) and spending 5 days in Bethany Beach, we didn't really do any road trips. However, we did spend a lot of time in the car visiting a ton of museums, monuments, and parks. Just this summer, the three kids and I went to 22 National Park sites and have plans to visit many more in the near future. Which brings me to my next series of long and short term goals...
Goals for the future
1. Visit all 417 National Parks/Sites/Monuments by the time Squeak is 18. This means visiting 394 more sites/parks in the next 13 years which averages out to around 30 parks a year. Doable. Though we are running out of "local" spots to visit. We are having to branch out to other locations around us. I'm still keeping the goal. We'll see what happens.
2. Read 50 books this school year. So, between tomorrow, August 24, 2017 and June 15, 2018, my goal is to read at least 50 books. If I can read 100 books while being a stay at home mom, I'm going to guess I can read 50 as a working mom.
3. Lastly, I still want to finish my book. My goal is to finish writing it this school year and then work on sending it out to agents this summer. :)
So, tomorrow I return to work. I feel like a completely different person from a year ago. My kids are growing up fast. I'm a little older. A little wiser, too (perhaps). I've read 100 books for myself and probably 1,000 (or more) books to my kids. I've learned to make meals, to be resourceful, to be patient, and to be kind. I've organized over 100 women to march for what is right. I've touched base with those I've missed - even if it was just through a phone call. I've done good deeds, I've kept my house in order and made sure meals were on the table. I've gone to bookclubs, yoga, and happy hours. I've been here to be part of every new milestone for each of my kids. I've watched Squeak transform from a 3 almost 4 year old into a young lady starting kindergarten. I've been on the receiving end of so many hugs, kisses, and love from my three babies. I've listened to squeals of delight as they've chased each other around the house, hiding under tables and behind furniture, and making messes. This year has been the hardest, most amazing thing I've ever done in my entire life. Some days were full of tears, some were full of joy. Some days I could barely get through and had to turn on the tv so I could lay on the couch and close my eyes for 10 minutes. Some days we explored all day and ate picnic lunches. No, I didn't get to do everything I hoped in the last year. But I did get to spend every single day with the people I love the most. Tomorrow is going to be a wonderful, but sad day. This has been the best year ever. While I'm sad to see it end, I'm excited to see what the future will bring. Hopefully some smiles, some laughs, lots of love. How lucky I've been! I didn't keep my goal of writing in this blog every day, but felt I needed one final entry for my time as a SAHM. I'm debating on whether or not to blog about books and other stuff in the near future. Your thoughts and suggestions are welcome!
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| All three snuggled up in my lap for a book :) |
