The 5 things I’ve liked about 2014

Although, for me 2014 wasn’t as brutal as 2013, it wasn’t the rainbow and butterflies kind of year either. I’ve got friends and relatives who have buried loved ones. I’ve got friends and relatives struggling with all kinds of problems, so I’m not going to stand up on a soapbox and talk about celebrating every part of this year. I am however going to take a few minutes to talk about the top 5 things in my year in no particular order. (And I’m always grateful for the family – that goes without saying this time).

1. Crossfit for Kids

My two middles get to do Crossfit for Kids now. Their Crossfit for kids coach is a) into physical fitness (obviously), b) a math teacher, c) female and d) has a sense of humor. Really – all rolled into one person. So my girls see that being active and smart as a female is awesome (as they love Coach Jackie! Peanut wanted to leave Christmas celebration to make it to a Crossfit class because it looked like fun!)

It might mean we had got to hear about games called toilet tag, but hey my girls were running around, having fun, and begging to go back every week. You’d be amazed at how much the reminder of Crossfit straightens up behavior. I was forbidden to make swimming lessons on Wednesday nights as that messed with Crossfit. I love that my kids think this is fun, and I think this couldn’t get any better.

 

2. I started running. (Well, as I say, running, jogging, slogging)

I’ve got goals about running, and I’m succeeding. Slower than a lame turtle, you betcha. But I’m getting out there more consistently. I’m getting support from friends and family. The right gear so I can run in cold. The right sort of gentle pushing to make sure I get out of bed most mornings. A willingness to let me race on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Friends who hooked me up with running groups online so I could get support from people who love to run. Friends who run 5ks with me so I get my butt out there and (are willing to drive downtown and know where to park). Its a new community for me, and I have to say I love it. I still don’t have that runner’s high. (Not sure I ever will). But the serenity of running sometimes especially in a cold, clear morning is worth it. That, and the swag from races That’s pretty cool too! Not every run has been great (the morning I came home nearly in tears because I got nearly ½ mile less on my long run than the week before… )

I can’t wait to see where this takes me.

3. My friends from childhood

This last August, a very good friend lost her husband to a battle with cancer. She is the kind of person that collects friends and keeps them. All of us want to be her friend due to her innate goodness, wicked sense of humor, and awesome sense of adventure. She happens to live near my folks, and many friends from childhood made the funeral. At the funeral, 4 of us who happened to spend lots of time together as kids/teens decided to get together and hang out before we had to go our separate directions. We got together at my folks house the next day, had breakfast, took some pictures, etc. More than that, we were in and out of each other’s lives enough, our parents knew each other and they came, too. I know few people in life lucky enough to have friends from elementary school that you can trust to lock up the house while you leave to go to the airport… And they cleaned up, too! Two of the group couldn’t make it, and they were missed. Here’s hoping to following through on plans to regroup!

4. My daughters’ teachers

The two middle girls are in 2nd grade and Preschool. I’m constantly amazed at their teachers. I volunteered in the preschooler’s classroom for a day. It was a reminder of how gifted some people are in teaching. This teacher is amazing. She’s patient with these little crazy monsters and feeds their brains and souls. She honors the strengths of each and works gently on their weaknesses. After three hours with my 3 littles, I want to scream, yell, and throw my own tantrums, and here she is with a gaggle of 3-4 years old that she only met in September, and she’s patient and kind and loving. All the time. Mind-boggling, but I guess some people are just meant to do some things, and she’s meant to teach. I’m so glad she teaches mine.

Meanwhile – over in the second grade classroom, my daughter is being nurtured, loved, disciplined (hopefully, rarely), and also taught by a great teacher. I think my favorite part of the year is that the teacher felt bad disciplining her for reading during math lesson (the teacher was literally teaching the math lesson and my kid whipped out a book…) Both Mike and I are absolutely cool with the discipline – time and place for everything – but the teacher did stop to think about whether or not that was appropriate. So now – I know she’s worrying about my kid like I do, too. That’s a gift you can’t pay for, it’s one you’re lucky enough to get.

(I imagine most teachers care enough to do the same, but we all know not every teacher should be teaching.) Other teachers in that building care too. I know that if my kid needed a safe place to go, she could find several places there.

5. The amazing amounts of babies born to friends and family this year.

I can’t keep track of how many babies were born this year, several having their first, and several having their third. (and two seconds). I love seeing new babies come into this world, and joining a family that’s been waiting for them (whether or not they were a surprise or planned, fought for, etc). These babies are just a reminder of love and innocence, and isn’t that the kind of reminder we need more often (Now, I’m not proposing you go off and have a kid as a way to fix anything, including not loving yourself or your partner so don’t go off all cockamamie on me here.) To the three friends (I know of)  having a baby next year – I’m excited for you and sort of including you in this list!

I also love the reminders that yep, we’re done, but that’s another story.