This has definitely been a year of transitions for my wife and I as our first child, a baby daughter, was born into this world back in mid–July. That has been not only one of the greatest experiences of our lives, but definitely one of the most disorienting. Last night we were commenting on how it has taken us almost six months to get out of “the fog.” Not that we will ever be completely out of “the fog” as we listen to stories of parents with older kids, but we feel like we are coming to a place of reorienting our life in some new ways. So we will see what this year holds for us.
But I can say that this year was the first year that I have been in bed before midnight on New Year’s Eve since probably my days as a toddler. And it was actually great. Why? Here are some random thoughts:
- Babies don’t care about the New Year so no use trying to keep them up.
- Since babies don’t care about the New Year you can’t really take them with you to a party, because nothing is more difficult than a cranky baby at a party for both the parents and the guests. And nothing wrecks their sleep or yours for the next few days than one late night.
- Not surprisingly, no one is available to babysit on New Year’s Eve .
- It’s great having a New Year with no huge expectations about the night before.
- It’s great enjoying a nice Boboli dinner, a glass of wine and a movie with your wife and getting to bed before midnight.
So now that it’s 2008, do I have any goals? Yes, but I’m still working on some of them. My wife and I are in the process of dreaming about some things and putting them down on paper. But a couple of personal goals that I have are:
- Write more this year and complete some book proposals and writing projects that I have laying around unfinished.
- Re-Strategize, Re-Think, Re-Implement new ideas, thoughts, theories and practices into our college ministry.
- Strategize on how I can integrate my theology/ministry training, counseling training and writing into a coherent job or jobs.
- Get back in shape.
I look forward to our interactions this New Year.
