Baby Steps...

Well here we are at the end of another year...amazing isn't it? Every year it's the same thing, no sooner are all the Christmas gifts unwrapped and littering your floor (well, at least that's how it is in our house ;)), then the New Year is upon us.

The New Year.

It looks so Important typed out like that--in Capital Letters and everything--it just begs to be celebrated and looked upon with a certain amount of hopefullness.

Is that why people make resolutions? Because the New Year is Important? Because it is an Official Holiday? Or is it because it signifies a New Beginning? A Fresh Start?

It's funny, because when I look back on things that happened in my life, I usually recall my age at the time, not the year. My Brother, on the other hand, can recall not only the year, but the month and sometimes even the day that things occurred in his--and many others'--life. We like to tease him about his incredible memory, laughing at how accurate he is and how 'no one else would ever remember that'--but for the record, I find it amazing and I'm a little jealous of him. I wish that I could recall things like that!

Anyway, I digress...

I remember very few years as being monumental or all that memorable for that matter.

1972 ~ The year I was born (although this technically isn't a memory for me per se, but rather a
fact of my life)

1989 ~ The year I graduated High School

1999 ~ The year I got married

2000 ~ The year I had my first child

2003 ~ The year I had my second child

2006 ~ The year I found out my third child would actually be my third and fourth children
         ~ The year I had above mentioned children

2008 ~ The year we're in currently and therefore the one freshest in my mind

See? Not a whole lot of years stand out to me. My age at certain events however, do. I won't go into a long laundry list of ages and events--none of them are all that interesting or entertaining--but I just thought I should mention it.

Anyway, I am hoping that the New Year will be a year I will remember as The Year I got my life together. The year I Finally became Organized. The Year I got rid of all the old useless stuff I've held onto for years and years. The Year that I took steps to Better Myself. The Year that, when I look back on it, will bring back memories of goals accomplished and happy memories made.

Yeah, I hope that 2009 will be that year.

Will I be making resolutions this year? That's a tricky question. I plan on making lifestyle changes and doing my best to be a better person, but are those really 'resolutions'? Or are those lifelong goals? Hmm...

Well either way, I'll be taking steps forward to a future filled with New Experiences and New Possibilities, New Friends and New Places to see, New Ways of doing things and New Plans...yep, everything will be all nice and shiny and New and I'll start out my journey with Baby Steps.

Because after all, if I start out taking giant steps, I might just trip over my big 'ol feet and fall flat on my face! ;)

Happy (Soon to Be) New Year to you all!