Happy New Year!

Dear 2011,
Thank you for filling our lives with milestones, memories, lots of laughter and lots of love. As with any year, there were days that were down-in-the-dumps but we don't take many pictures of those days because it would take up space on our hard-drives (literally and figuratively) that should be filled with the on-cloud-nine days. I already miss my toddler-ish 2 1/2 year olds from 2011. They never say "what'd you said?" anymore. Instead they say things like "Okay, so, Momma, here's the plan: first we are going to go to the park with the little house and then when we get home we are going to play Candyland. Okay?". I don't hear words like "sider", "sot", and "soon". Instead "spider", "spot", and "spoon" just roll off of their tongues.  While I expected this to happen closer to their teens, I'm already being called "Mom" instead of "Momma". Seriously? In the blink of an eye...

I've been trying to have more of a "whatever" attitude with the girls: "Momma, may I wear this tiny shirt again today?" Whatever. "Momma, may I have 2 m&m's?" Whatever. "Momma, may I take my Mango (toy frog) in the car with me?" Whatever. "Momma, may I have a pancake for lunch?" Whatever. As a mom, I get asked a gazillion-trillion-million questions each day. Which means that I have a gazillion-trillion-million opportunities to say "No". And, with the word "no", comes a negative thought process, a negative response, and a negative reaction. Life's too damn short for a gazillion-trillion-million negatives a day.

So here's to 2012. May whatever happens bring all of us peace, joy, and love. Or whatever. Just as long as it's worthy of hard-drive space. 

Happy New Year!