Raise Your Hand If You're Ready

And so it begins...ready or not.

I am ready.  

Ready for a new beginning.

Bring it 2012.

New Year's Eve was a calm one for my family, well if you can all anything with the six of us calm.  We (my husband Tim and I) decided we wouldn't go anywhere.  We wanted to stay home and create our own traditions.  That was part of it, the other part was after a long ass holiday season we were tired and didn't feel like dressing the gang back up and going anywhere.

We decided to celebrate ringing in the new year with a homemade celebration with streamers and hats, a special dinner and England's clock.  That's right, we screamed "Happy New Year" with Londoners at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  Played a few games and the kids were in bed by 8:30.  Happy f-ing new year people!  For real.

At our special, "fancy" dinner, we had some interesting discussions.  The kids decided we would pass the candle and talk about what our hopes and wishes are for the future.  Peyton said he wanted to grow up and have 8 kids.  "Are you going to get married or are you going to adopt?" Lucy asked very seriously and very interested.  They proceeded to talk about what they thought the other kids would be when they grew up and asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up.  The whole time Wade was running around popping balloons. 

After the kids went to bed, I struggled to stay awake.  It was like my body was saying "look lady, you stay up late so many nights...it's the last night of the year, I am fucking tired, go to bed."  So, I did.  I managed to keep one eye open to watch the always anti-climactic ball drop in Times Square and then I fell asleep.


Hands down, this was the best New Year's Eve of my life.  Ever.  
Because to me, it's not about resolving to eat less or drinking too much.  Watching my kids sweetly predict their futures, that's it.  It's about the future, what's next, on the horizon.  Hopes, dreams and all that jazz.  It's not about promising to change, it's about the possibility of it actually changing.


It's all about the new.  


On our way home from Pittsburgh, the kids were playing the raise your hand game. 

Please don't notice the Cheetos stains on the minivan ceiling that I just pointed out. Wasn't aware that Lucy was using the ceiling as a napkin.  Hope that changes in 2012.

You know, like this "Raise your hand if you like vacation."  Remember playing that?  "Raise your hand if you like Matt?" and your giggly friend or two raise their hands. Or "Raise your hand if you like going to bed early?" and nobody raises their hands.  Oh, so much fun.  


In our game, even the baby Wade got into it...raising his hand for everything of course.

So, ready people?  
Raise your hand if you are open to change. Raise your hand if you are excited about all the newness heading your way.  
Raise your hand if you want 2012 to bring it.