Warm socks, an Apple Watch and slowing down in the New Year

How many days have whizzed by this New Year?

I’m trying not to count.

This year, I’m making an effort to take each day as it comes.

I’ve spent the last couple weeks (yes all of Christmas!) totally under the weather and it made the holiday season a little quieter and slower, but it also made the things I got to do a whole lot more special.

Time is precious.  And sometimes it takes a little bit of forced slowing down time to realize how priceless all the moments in our lives each day actually are.

So this year, I thought about what I want to focus on and I’ve decided I want to be less worked up about the little things and things I cannot change. (And OMG. I know 2017 is going to be FULL of things I cannot change!)

I want to savor the good moments just a little more.

And slow down so I can actually enjoy myself.  It’s hard to process life in a fast-paced world.  I need to take more time.

Like when I run I need to allow myself time to stop to take a picture of pretty light.  Or dawdle a little longer at the playground with the kids instead of rushing home to get on to the next activity.  I need to take time to actually look out the window and appreciate the moments that we’re living in.  I’ve learned a little about being in the moment from yoga and I think it’s so valuable to pause and express gratitude sometimes just for being alive.

We’ve spent a bunch of time up at the cabin where time just stops-I’ve actually had a lot of readers email about it and I’ll update more about cabin-living in the New Year.  Cabin-living has simplified our life and added a ton of new adventures.  I love how slowing down has added so many memories I wouldn’t have had otherwise and because it’s not too far from where we live and it’s in a place we used to play before we built there, we actually end up hanging out at the cabin a lot.

I’ve also had to cook more because we’re in the mountains where there aren’t a ton of restaurants and this has reminded me that I actually like to and need to cook for my family.  I received a book called Taste of Home 100 Family Meals that has easy recipes to get me back into cooking again.  I also like the “Kids in the Kitchen” tips peppered throughout this book to help get kids involved in meal preparation.  We appreciate the meals we make together the most and eating together is where we have some of our best family time.

I need to remember to do the things my kids like to do too.  Like play Lego with them while they still want to play Lego with me.  I can’t believe how big my boys are getting!  The other day we piled all our blankets in the living room and dumped out all the Lego and just spent the morning building.  And if I had just left the guys to build while I did other chores, I wouldn’t have had that memory.  Part of me wondered how many days I have like this left. (And then I tried to shove that awful thought away…..again, I need to savor good moments and not worry about the things that I can’t control.)

I need to stop worrying if the dishes get piled up or if the neighbors stop by and see laundry in my living room.  Sometimes.  (Not all the time.  No one wants to live in a dump, but we all need to see each other in a more real light…..and who wants to spend ALL of our precious time cleaning and tidying and worry what others think?)

I want to be a little more thankful for the little things.

One of my guys was so thrilled with some warm socks I was sent for them to try out, I was pretty taken aback. They’re these Heat Holder kids’ socks.  And I didn’t know how happy socks would make my kid.

But apparently these are now the warmest socks he owns.  Which makes for more days outdoors in the snow because his toes don’t get cold.  I forget how simple things sometimes make bigger memories happen.

I was also skeptical about an Apple Watch my hubby got me for my birthday.  But it has a breathe app that buzzes my arm throughout the day to make me think about taking a minute for myself.

At first I laughed about the breathe button which also takes my pulse.  I thought it was gimmicky.  But then sometimes I’ve had it buzz when I’ve felt my voice rising at the kids or when I’ve been in a stressful situation.  I’m wondering if it’s coincidence or not, but I’ve appreciated the gentle reminders.

Slow down.  Take time for yourself. Breathe.

And my favorite subscription right now is Book of the Month club.

I just finished another two lovely reads (that I wouldn’t have had I not been part of this club.) And I find myself itching to see what books will be on the next month’s list.  Reading is so cathartic and I find that if I take time to read a little, the rest of my life becomes more inspired.

And then I want to see the world.

We have some trips planned for the New Year.  I’ll fill you in as I find out EXACTLY where we’re going.  But so far we have our eyes set on some local trips, and some as far away as Amsterdam and Australia.

But again, we’ll try to slow down and not try to see ALL THE THINGS.

Time is precious.  And slowing down and taking time sometimes preserves the little time we have. Sometimes slowing down makes big time memories. And this is what I want for 2017.

What do you think?  Do you make resolutions for the New Year?  Do you have fun travel plans?  I’d love to hear about your goals for 2017.  Happy New Year!

(PS. I received samples of the Heat Holders socks and the Taste of Home cookbook but was not required to post and the opinions in this blog are my own.)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)