Strategic Serendipity

 I love New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.  They hold such promise, enthusiasm, and hope.  2020 was not as bad for me as for so many in the world.  After losing my dad in 2018 and my mom in 2019, the worst thing 2020 gave me was frustration and worry.  And for that I am very thankful.  But that doesn’t mean that the dreams don’t start to build this time of year.   As I was planning this year, I wanted to make sure I wasn't rushing forward too fast.  As the single mother of a nine-year old, we most likely will not be doing that big Disney/Harry Potter trip we had planned in 2021.  And that is okay.  But there are a lot of things I can do to build (or build on) good habits.   So here it is, my 2021 New Year's Resolutions.  Watch here to see if I succeed! Take 100 beautiful pictures .  This is a self-indulgent, self-care item.  My 2018 began with my son being admitted to the hospital and ended with my father's ...

All my life I have been a voracious reader.  I love series and can binge read them with the best.  When I found out I was pregnant at 40, I was elated.  I threw up every day the whole pregnancy (but it was so worth it) so when I struggled reading, I thought it was just from feeling sick.  After my son was born, I was all about him, feeding him, feeding myself, and sleeping. Maybe showering.  So I still didn’t notice anything. When I went back to work, in a job that required reading, it was a struggle.  I told myself I was just tired.  Three years in, though I started to worry.  I got a job where I was commuting three hours a day, and turned to audible.com and books as the best carpool buddies ever.  After six months of that commute, however, I moved five minutes from work and my reading sharply declined over the next year. So in 2016 I made a New Year’s Resolution to read more.  I found a reading challenge to help me search for boo...