2017 was a holiday season for the record books. We miraculously balanced family time, friend time, cleaning and cooking, busy and downtime. Our tree went up early, and Christmas cookies got made. Santa brought the kids toys they desperately wanted. Dave surprised me with great books I can’t wait to read, and Poppi surprised him with nerd gear that blew his mind. Of course we had temper tantrums and sickness, grocery items forgotten and appointments missed! But in the grand scheme of things, no complaints.

Which is a good reminder! We spent the last week cleaning out the whole house top to bottom. Epic quantities of laundry and sorting happened. “Vacation” is a loose term. But we got gobs of time with the kids, and rewarded them for helping with family movies and snuggles all the time. So we rang in the new year with friends and the kids in a house that feels cozy. The fridge is full of awesomeness and we’re all mellow.

So as I saw people posting wise reflections and their Facebook nine best moments, I had a wry moment of disappointment. I used to take resolutions and turning the page so seriously. I love looking back at the closing year’s shining highlights as much as anyone else! And I’ll get my chance, in February or March when I wade through the thousands of photos from 2017. I won’t be able to narrow it down to nine; our annual photo books take an obscene amount of time and weigh more than Griff. But for now, I’m well aware that the days when Tess wants to crawl up on my lap are limited. Remy’s recent return from quasi-macho to sweet and helpful is making me swoon, and Lilou’s awe over her new princess dress is amazing to watch. And Griff? Griff is the king of the air guitar right now. It’s epic to hear and watch, even though it’s earsplitting. My time is better spent with them.

So my personal hallmark wallow will wait, but I’m already looking forward to it. And no wisdom will come from this source any time in the near future. But I’m getting way better at Barbie hair and have stepped on my first big kid LEGO. We’re growing in new ways as we speak.

Happy 2018 everyone!