It’s always good to get reflective this time of year, on what good decisions I made and what I could have done better. I was inspired to write this post after reading a similar post from A Private Life of a Girl. I’ve found this exercise to be incredibly helpful and powerful in being grateful for what I’ve experienced so far in 2017. So here are my 5 positive changes I’ve made this year, and maybe you might like to get reflective and contemplate on your own?
5 Positive Changes I’ve Made in 2017
1. Placing Phoebe into Daycare
Putting Phoebe into Daycare for one day a week has made the biggest positive change to our lives. Granted, Tuesday mornings are busy because there are three drop offs (and three pick ups!). Yet, it has given me 5 hours of uninterrupted work time a week. And Phoebe loves her special day at Daycare. She can’t wait to go, which makes it easier to drop her off. Those 5 child-free hours fly when I’m sitting at my computer though, but it has helped ensure I’m not up late at night or up really early in the morning to get work done. Next year, I’m hoping to have two kid free days to free up my evenings and weekends in front of the computer.
2. Saying Yes to Different Opportunities
This year, I’ve had some amazing opportunities come my way and I wouldn’t have had them, if I didn’t say yes. There have been times where I’ve said yes and wondered if I can do what I’ve been given the responsibility to do. But I’ve surprised myself in doing the work and enjoying it. Receiving good feedback on what I’ve done has helped boost my confidence too. Doing new things has motivated me to learn more. These opportunities have also given me great experience, which I’ve been able to invest into my own blogs and social media pages.
Saying yes to volunteer roles like being the Workplace Health and Safety Officer at Maggie’s Kindy has also been good for me. While it’s made my year incredibly busy, it’s a wonderful feeling of knowing I’m doing a job that can help others.
3. Saying No To Attending Events
I love attending public events and even being at the forefront of public events, but this year I pulled back to allow time for the things I’ve said yes to. For example, being the WHS officer at Kindy means one night out a month for the committee meetings. I can’t do too many late nights in a row, so it has meant I’ve had to say no to attending various events.
Saying yes to developing friendships and dating my husband or making memories with my children has meant I’ve said no to networking opportunities. I came to the conclusion that these will always be available year in and year out, but when you find true friends, or you realise how great it is to date your husband again (now we’re out of the baby years) or how fast your kids grow up, you do what needs to be done to nourish those relationships to ensure they flourish. So I have said no to a lot of the trade breakfast events, plumbing networking events and some blogging events because I just can’t do everything.
4. Letting go of past hurts
This has been a really tough one for me to do. And I don’t find it easy to do. But I remind myself how imperfect I am and how I’d want someone to respond to me after I’ve hurt them. This way of thinking has helped me get over myself and forgive.
This year I’ve had personal upsets that brought out my ugly side. But facing them and letting go of the hurt and injustice has been tremendously freeing. It’s still something I will always need to work on, but I’m glad I cried the ugly tears and had a few deep conversations with my parents and friends who have understood the history of the situations and have just supported me 100%. It’s good to have family and friends who know the truth of the matters you’re dealing with and are there to understand what you’ve been through, but then kick you in the butt to get back up again.
5. Investing time into friends
I think I did better at this this year than previous years. Spending time with friends from Esther’s school, church and my gorgeous blogging friends has been good for my soul – and hopefully theirs. When you find ‘your kind of people’, you want to invest in the friendships.
Over the course of this year, there have been some good times like going to a paint and sip class, celebrating our children’s birthdays, celebrating each other’s birthdays and heading out to the theatre and there are still more events to enjoy until the end of the year. I’m so glad I said yes to spending time with these wonderful people. Its my goal to keep that going into 2018.
This year has certainly been a mixed bag of highs and lows and with many ordinary days in between. But it’s been a good year and I’m happy and content with the outcomes of these decisions throughout the year.
