focus on me

Photo by Lucy during our Christmas Tree hunt

I turned thirty-one this week, hooray!

Birthdays are always a time I stop and reflect on who I am, who I'm becoming, how I am feeling, how I am doing, etc. 

My reflections this year are not necessarily new, but have been becoming clearer. 

I love being a parent. I love being a mom. I love being a stay-at-home mom. I am so grateful that I spend my days with kids, raising them, enjoying them and experiencing life with them. 

But I see myself becoming so entrenched in the life I'm providing to my kids that I forget myself. My own interests and hobbies. My own hopes and goals. My husband. My talents. 

I know that forgetting myself in service of my kids is not really a service to them. It will lead me to burnout, overwhelm, stress, maybe even resentment. 

And maybe more importantly, I will not be full-time parenting for the rest of my life. I don't want to see my kids grow up and then have no idea what I want in life anymore, no direction or purpose. 

So, this year, I am trying to find ways to be more present to myself, yet again. Some of the goals are the same: play the piano more, journal more. Some are a little more specific: take myself on a me-date a few times a year, get one-on-one time out with Nate at least once or twice a month, get more photos with me in them (even some with just me!), finish my coffee more often (if you know, you know!). 

I'm looking forward to what this year will hold, both for my family and for me!