What a new year!

I'm hopeful. And this is why.

My plans for 2011 aren't really anything spectacular, but if successful, will be life altering. In no particular order, this is how I see my life changing this year:

1. I visualize a healthy, stronger physical body...and a healthier, stronger mental one, as well. We've had plenty of things to endure in the last year, but it was really only the start of it. Now is when we actually 'endure' it, so I'm going to need to be stronger. And so will the rest of my crew.

2. Less Facebook...and more face. That is, face-to-face. The absolute only positive thing I have experienced from Facebook is a reconnection I have made with some of my family and friends that otherwise I probably could not have. Seeing my cousins and their families, chatting with old friends from high school and college, and meeting family I've never known are the reasons I sign on. But, on the other end of the spectrum, some of my relationships that really should be face-to-face, like more immediate family, or people who live in the same small town as I do, are becoming solely facebook relationships. And I just find that absurd. If the only way my family or close friends know about my family life (and I theirs) is through my daily status, then we have more problems than Facebook. So, I'm taking charge of myself in that way. They will have to do the same if they want to know about us. And whatever will be, will be.

3. Speaking of taking charge, I will be from now on. Some of you might laugh and think, well how is that any different from now? (Very funny.) But, there are many things I haven't taken charge of, and from now on, I will. Nobody puts Baby in a corner. Period.

So how will these things come to be?

1. As for my physical self, morning workouts and a special diet are underway. But it's not going to end there. I'm bringing it to my blog as a journal. Bold, I know. What if I fail? Well, IF I do, then the world will know it. But, for me, that in itself is a motivator. I have an amazing friend from college that has transformed herself through, what she calls an 'addiction' to health and fitness, but it's what I call truly LIVING. I wish I had done it years ago, but I didn't, so I have a lot of work to do. And this awesome lady has offered to be my accountability partner, so I jumped at that chance! Here we go!

2. Mental self? Well, there's a lot of baggage, but what I've been told is that when my physical self starts to improve, so will my mental. I'm going to give that some time to do it's thing, but in the meantime, I'm putting some techniques into place. One is, standing up for myself and for my family. No more letting others tell us how things are going to be in certain situations, no more being made to feel bad about doing the right thing for our son, no more ANY of it. I know it will likely make me look like some kind of crazy woman for speaking my mind, but that's only because I've allowed it to go on for so long.

My mother lives by the motto of *DILLIGARA*. If you are unfamiliar, google it. It has now become my motto.

3. How am I going to boycott Facebook? Well, 'boycott' is harsh. I'm just simply staying off of it. Just to show how addicting it had become, I accidentally signed on this morning after announcing that I was taking a break. Purely accidental. But if I'm really working hard at all the other stuff, Facebook should seem like an afterthought.

So, there it is, short and sweet. I'm so excited about 2011 and what it will mean for our family. Liam has already come a long way since his diagnosis, and we are in the process of accessing more services for him. I can't wait to see how he has improved by this time next year.

What I wish for ALL of you is peace...strength...and love.

xoxoxo

It's important that people should know what you stand for. It's equally important that they know what you won't stand for. --Mary H. Waldrip