Happy New Year, 2014.

I was chatting with my five and four year-old daughters a few minutes ago as a part of our normal good night routine.  After the teeth are brushed and the books are read, I lay on the floor talking with my daughters.  My five year-old asked if they drank from a bottle would they be babies again.  I said no, you don’t get to go backwards.

The girls moved on to asking when we would get to go to the hotel again.  Over Thanksgiving we got to stay in a hotel with a pool.  The girls still talk about it.  I said that yes, we would get to stay in a hotel again.  My five year-old let out her trademark, “Yeesss!”

And there it is… the heartache and the joy of life.  You can’t go back, but there is so much to look forward to.

As 2013 comes to a close and look forward to 2014, we all take this moment to gather our thoughts about the past year.  There is nothing I can write that will change anything that has happen in 2013.  As I found the YouTube video above, I was flooded with emotion for Mr. Monter, who passed away this year. Our paths had diverged a few years ago, but the time we spent working together was important to my development as a teacher and a person.  But it is not just Mr. Monter that I miss.  I miss my family and my friends.  I know that my life will not mean much to the grand scheme of life, but the relationships I have make the world of difference right now.

Yes, I have made my New Year resolutions.  One of them is centered on building stronger relationships with people who matter the most to me.

But 2014 will be here tomorrow, in fact in about three hours, and that means opportunities.   Chances to fulfill dreams.  Maybe because I am now in my forties, I have a different sense of the importance of each day.   I want to make each day feel like how my five year-old would say, “Yeesss!”

Happy New Year!