HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This past year has been an amazing conglomeration of ups and downs, but mostly ups which is always a good thing.


This year started off with my baby starting preschool in an Early Childhood program that is run by people I am not fond of, but a program that has done amazing things for his speech, his behaviors, and his abilities. And for that, I am thankful.


Then, my oldest turned five, thereby making him eligible for kindergarten, which he started this past Fall. It is an event I have been dreading and looking forward to at the same time. It means he is no longer my baby, but now a bonafide big boy. And that stings, a little. Motherhood is a weird and wonderful roller coaster in which you look forward to your children growing, developing, and becoming their own independent person in their own right but, at the same time, cherishing and grieving their babyhoods and their sweet milk smell, their chubby little arms and legs wrapped around you 24/7, and their constant need for you to survive. I know it won't make sense to you, unless you are a mother. This year officially marked the end of Bryce's babyhood and it was very, very bittersweet for me. But, I got through it. He is more independent than ever and gets smarter and smarter everyday. He loves school, his teacher, and all of his new friends. And for that, I am thankful.


2009 also brought some difficulty for me in trying to balance too many things at once. Until, one day, I read a book. And, in that book, there was a quote that struck home with me. Life is about five balls. Each of these balls is called family, spirit, work, health, and friends. All but one of them is glass. The work ball is rubber. It can be bounced around as often as you need it to. The other four are quite fragile and must be handled with care or they will become chipped or broken. I found out the hard way how easily the other balls are damaged when you don't bounce that work ball enough. And so, I have made significant changes in my life to make my work ball bounce a lot more this year so that I can easier juggle the other much more fragile, much more precious balls with care. And for this, I am thankful.


In the past year, I have learned much, loved much, and laughed often. And for this, I am thankful.


Looking back, 2009 is also the end of a decade. I am amazed at the vast difference in my life now compared to ten years ago and I wonder where I will be ten years from now. In the year 2000, I had just graduated from college, moved to a different town and was beginning my career. In April, I got engaged and began planning my wedding. In the years that followed, I got married, moved to yet a different town, had two babies, and then moved to a completely different state. I quit my life as a professional career woman and became a stay at home mother, a decision I will never, ever regret. Along the way, I have met and made friends with some amazing people who have all impacted my life in some way or another. And, for all of this, I am thankful.


And now, I am about to venture off on a new journey of my life. The next ten years in which I hope will be as good to me as the last ten have been. I look forward to meeting new people, making new friends. learning more, laughing more, and, most importantly, loving more. I am starting the new year off by ending the craziness of balancing too many things at once and going back to the simplicity of just being me. Kama, a stay at home mom who loves her kids, her husband, and her friends and who fits work around them, rather than them around work. No more Avon. No more photography. No more demands from others and trying to meet the expectations of people who could really care less while the people who do care get lost in the shuffle. And for being given the opportunity to do this while my family and friends lovingly support me, I am thankful.


To all of you who read this, thank you. And, I hope that the new year and the new decade bring YOU things to be thankful and grateful for as I have. I hope you are able to learn, laugh, and love as much as your life lets you and then some. Happy New Year everyone!