Dedicated to R.M.
I have been thinking a lot about 2017 and the start of a new year. I am ready for a fresh slate, and welcome the opportunity for renewal. In the past, I have always publicly shrugged off New Year’s resolutions. They felt like empty wishes that were usually long forgotten by the end of January. Deep inside, however, I cannot deny that there’s a part of me that joined in on the ritual of setting goals and hoping to make long-lasting, positive changes. Eat more healthfully. Exercise regularly. Be more available for my children, husband & parents. Volunteer more. Be a positive influence. Lose weight. Be better organized. Cook dinners for my family.

While I may aspire to these lofty goals on a regular basis, my reality sings a different song. My ‘healthy eating’ somehow always seems to include bagels, Diet Coke, ice cream and the occasional ginger molasses cookie. My love affair with coffee has ranged from drinking it with cream & sugar, to choking it down black, to trying not to have any at all. I’m currently back in the land of cream & sugar and loving every sip. I exercise in spurts, going from cycling centuries and trying to be a runner to months of nothingness. Work continues to dominate my existence, my house is scattered with organized piles, and dinners are hit or miss. The feeling of failure is often oppressive.

I had a brief email conversation with someone last week, however, who gave me a new perspective. She nonchalantly suggested that I make myself open to possibility.

Not the possibility of something new.

Not the possibility of something different, or better.

Simply, be open to possibility.

Think about it: there is nothing attached to these words. No goals. No failure. No judgment.

The choice is easy. 2017 is going to be my year of being open to possibility.

I hope to be authentic and honest.
To write words that come from my heart and share them with you to read if you choose to do so.
To accept myself and others for all of our strengths and foibles.
To relish the small moments.
To wake up each morning with nothing lingering over me from the previous day except the whisper of my new motto.

I can be open to possibility and know that you can as well.

With love and hope –

xo