Goals for the Year Ahead 2017
Here we are, more than a week into the new year, and I haven't even given thought to a New Year resolution to stop and slow down long enough to even make one. This link up made me consider what are my goals for the year ahead in 2017?
First off - My husband and I have been doing a bit of soul searching, perhaps mourning our children's childhood going so fast would be a better way to put it. Or, maybe we're coming into reality with our own mortality and how quickly or lives pass. Either way, we do an annual tour where we visit Wisconsin and Michigan. My husband performs musical shows while the kids and I enjoy the sites and hotels. We have a couple spots that are our favorite. We started this journey when the kids were young. It was so fun. I will never forget surprising them all with a resort that has the most amazing water park attached to it. We could only afford a couple nights at the time, but we made the most of it with jumping up and down excited kiddos. We had the future ahead of us. We homeschooled, so our schedule was flexible to get after Labor Day rates and such, and it seemed as if it would last forever.
Now, the tour has grown to 5 weeks with the oldest is headed for his senior year of high school, and the youngest is about the same age as my oldest was when we began these trips. So, things are different.
We now do more cramming into the van and hotel room and have to book more beds to have a place for everyone to sleep, and the older two have begun to voice their desire to not be away from home for so long of a stretch of time. Sigh!
So, a big part of this year's goal is to listen to the Lord and hear what He has to say about whether or not we are to even attempt one more 5-week tour with the kids. We basically need direction as to where my husband's musical career is even headed. One thing is for sure - If it's going to continue to grow, he needs to charge more for his performances.
Another goal for this year is to figure out how to approach my son's senior year in the fall and whether or not college is in his plans.
But, I have some other goals as well. My big desire this fall is to walk the Makinaw Bridge on Labor Day which will mark theh 60th anniversary of the Labor Day Bridge Walk. It is a 5-mile stretch, and I have been training for it walking on my treadmill every day, for the most part. So, hopefully a by-product of this will be losing weight and getting into better shape.
Another fun goal is to try to do art more. I started sketching with my youngest, and have enjoyed it quite a bit so far.
Before I ramble so long that you stop reading (if you haven't already), I will mention another goal is to cherish and take every opportunity to spend time with my children raising them in the Lord. That, after all, was the entire purpose of my stay-at-home, homeschool mom ministry to begin with.
I totally hear where you are coming from. My oldest is 16 and I keep thinking this year, man where did the time go. When he was little I kept thinking we had all the time in the world and now, not so much. If anything, knowing that has really made me treasure the time we have more. Sounds like your 5 week tours are a lot of fun. Good luck with finding a compromise with the kids.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your children do your walking,and well figuring out your hubby's music. Good plans
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