A "New" Year's Resolution

It's hard to believe that I haven't written about this yet seeing that it was one great adventure that lasted one year long. On January 1, 2007, I decided that for the first time in my life I was going to actually FULLY and COMPLETELY fulfill a resolution that I set for myself. I knew that this task was going to be a difficult seeing that I didn't really have anything super particular in mind. To make it easier, I decided that I was going to do something that I liked, that would be an adventure for both myself and my family, and that would be a stretch to who I am.

My resolution - travel someplace every month for an entire year. I knew that part of the challenge would be getting my support system enrolled in what I was doing. My husband is used to some of my quirky requests, but I wasn't sure how he would feel about this one....knowing that some of the time he would be home holding down the fort. Was this resolution a bit selfish - yes! Did it inspire me - absolutely! The funny thing about the traveling resolution was the guilt that I originally felt when I told someone about what I was creating for myself, my life, for my family, and those who would travel with me. You see, it isn't every day that a mother of three young boys decides to do something like this. The first time I told someone in my younger boys class what I was doing, they looked at me like I had three heads and asked me, "How in the world are you going to be able to do something like that?" At this point, I had not traveled yet, had no idea how I was going to do it, and wasn't quite sure how I was going to pay for everything.

The first month it was a little difficult for me to drive away from the house and say goodbye to the little ones, but those first three days away at a phenomenal class in Los Angeles provided me with insight on how I am going to spend the rest of my life - and it would not have been something that I could have learned on my own.

The months rolled by and the experiences varied. My travel included time with my brother, many travels with my kids and husband, and time with a best friend who was in need of a shoulder to cry on. The interesting thing was that I continued to challenge myself in my travels away and didn't always rely on what I felt comfortable doing. I learned how to ask around and find the best restaurant in the city where the locals would eat, blended in on the streets of New York and was asked by some tourists how to get someplace, spent some of the most relaxing days of my life, and created treasured memories for both myself and my family.

I am a stronger woman, a better mother, a more loving wife, more daring, and more in love with living after doing this. As we are half way through the year, and I didn't have a resolution for 2008, I am now going to make a half resolution. I don't know what it will be....but I can guarantee it will be fantastic (at least 1/2)!