A new year of intentions

Each new year, I try very hard to pretend that New Years day will be symbolic of my entire year. Which means that I try to do all of the things that I want the year to be full of, and steer clear of those things that I would like to not have fill my new year. I kind of strive for a perfect day- which we all know is a bit foolish... but I still try every year.

This year was no exception. My little one hasn't been sleeping well, so I was up most of the night with him. My husband let me sleep in for a couple of hours- which symbolized being rested. When I woke up, I let him take a nap and I took over with the children- symbolizing showing gratitude and reciprocity. I played with my son and daughter, read them books, took pictures, did some art work, and made a lovely breakfast. When my husband woke up, we decided to make a meal together in our new slow cooker. Beef stew. Symbolic of working together to create nurturance for our family.

We went for a drive to the ocean, and my daughter and I made a wish while looking at the water. When we returned, we planned to have stew and bread for dinner and get the children in bed early. The children fell asleep in the car on the drive (which meant an early bed time would not be in the cards). After cooking nearly all day, the stew was an utter disaster. We abandoned that plan and had sandwiches for dinner. I guess that symbolizes being flexible when things don't really work out the way you want them to. The children didn't get to sleep until extremely late, but I still managed to do some artwork into the wee hours of the morning.

Having children has taught me that I am not the boss. Life unfolds in ways that I can not plan for. Happiness isn't about everything being perfect. I guess it is about being flexible and accepting what does happen. I had a pretty wonderful day on the whole.

I have two blogs - my caya papaya blog which focuses on my paintings - and this blog. This blog is very new, and I am still getting acclimated to writing two blogs. So what is the direction that I want this blog to take in 2011? Here are some of the ideas that I came up with:

• Sharing art that you can do with children. As an art therapist for over 15 years, I have a ton of ideas around this subject.
• Sharing my insight as a clinician working with children.
  
• Sharing things that excite me around the raising of my own children. This might be in websites, books, and whatever else inspires me as a parent.
• Giving my husband a place where he can also talk about the trials and tribulations of being an active father. Although often times the children will prefer me (attachment parenting and the mommy thing), I really do believe that we share the role of caregiver in a way that has been supportive and wonderful.

Hopefully, this blog can be helpful to someone- and I can create something that I enjoy and am proud of.

Happy 2011. Please visit me again soon.