It’s the last day of 2018 and I can hardly even process that. How did another year fly by??
I’m not one for “New Year’s Resolutions” per se, but these past few weeks I’ve been not only reflecting on the year we’re saying goodbye to, but also thinking ahead and setting goals for 2019. So before we get practical about 2019 goals, I want to take a moment for 2018.
I started This Average Mom in 2018, so to say it’s been an exciting several months is an understatement. We’d been planning (and I’d been writing) for months, but instead of hitting publish on the website, it stayed ‘under construction’ for a little too long. But finally on June 1, 2018, I pushed fear aside and the blog went live–typos, broken links, and all.
I’ve loved writing since I was a child. Back then, I’d write fake American Girl stories, with the girls having super sweet names like Harmonie (yes, with the ie instead of y!). But to put my sort-of-adult thoughts out in the world, to be vulnerable…where literally anyone I’ve ever known could stumble upon my little corner of the Internet was a whole new level. So basically…2018 I stepped into the unknown, and it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done (do I have to say other than marry my husband/have my kids? I think you probably already know that, but there…I said it just in case).
2018 was also the year I stopped making excuses about my fitness, got off the couch, and ran a 10 mile race and a half marathon. It was the year I was able to say “I’m a runner.” Sure, I lost a few pounds, and my stomach looks better these days, but running improved my whole inner self too. Taking time for me, the ability to relieve stress, working toward a concrete goal, all made a huge difference in my life outlook.
This year, I watched my husband become even STRONGER than he was, and although it’s not my story to tell, I CAN say that he amazes me every day and I can’t wait for this upcoming year. We just celebrated 10 years of marriage and it keeps getting better. We took a couple trips by ourselves and took a family beach vacation. Speaking of family, our kids have changed so much this year. My sweet Harlyn has really come into her own. She has these deep thoughts and comes up with things that are so beyond what our parenting could have taught her. She is…amazing. To sum her up in one sentence for 2018: She has Jesus in her heart. Maverick has gone from infant to toddler, and it’s been a joy to witness it. He has a great sense of humor and has started talking up a storm. My favorite things he says right now are “yeah peas” for Yes, Please and “Mama need you.” He’s just the snuggliest little thing, and kissing his cheeks and chin are among my favorite things to do. To sum him up in one sentence: He is all boy—goofy, sweet, and mischievous.
2018 was a pretty darn good year. For those of you reading who didn’t have a good 2018, my hope and prayer for you is that your 2019 is full of joy.
So. 2019 is knocking on our door. Like I mentioned, I don’t ever do the resolutions thing, but here’s a few things that I’m concentrating on in 2019.
1) Read the Bible in one year. I bought a one year Bible on Amazon a couple days ago, and I’m ready to start tomorrow! I’m actually really excited—I don’t know that I’ve ever read the WHOLE Bible before.
2) Grow the blog. 2019 will be the year that I get strategic. I’ve been blogging for 7 months, and I can see that if I want this to grow, I need to have a plan. I need a content calendar, scheduled writing time, planning time, and social media time.
3) Set marriage and family goals. Ok…I’m gonna tell you a secret. This is the first year Brandon and I have ever thought about setting goals for our marriage and family. Crazy, right?? I mean, we always have a general direction, and we’ve had financial goals and such before, but we’ve never sat down and said…what do we want our marriage to look like in 5 years? How do we get there? But 2019 is the year we’re going to start!!
4) Run another half marathon (and several shorter races). I realized that the best way to keep myself motivated to run is to have something I’m working toward. It’s basically impossible to slack if you have a big race to train for.
Hopefully, typing these goals out and putting them on the blog will keep me accountable.
If you haven’t thought about 2019 yet, I’d encourage you to do it this week! Sit down with your best colored pens and fanciest paper, and start writing. Maybe you ONLY want to concentrate on one area for this year (your family, your business, your blog, your fitness, personal development) or maybe you want to set goals for several areas like I did. Either way, it’s good to think ahead and decide where you’d like to be one year from today. Once you know the goal, you can make small changes and do something each day to work toward it. I can’t wait to see what this upcoming year has in store for me, and I hope you feel the same!
Do you do resolutions? Set goals? What is something you are working on in 2019? I’m cheering you on, whatever it is you’re setting out to do!
Cheers to 2019, friends! See you then!
