Looking forward to 2012

In all honesty, I'm very happy to see 2011 leave. It has been a very challenging year physically, emotionally and relationally. I realize that simply flipping a page on the calendar isn't going to make all things cheery and bright, but I do think that pushing the 'reset' button is good and necessary and what better time to push reset than January 1?

Physically
Obviously starting 2011 injured and remaining that way for most of the year put a damper on my plans and messed with my head.

For 2012 my Fitness Goals are pretty simple:
~ reach and maintain a healthy weight - I'm on the upper end of 'normal' for my height, but I'd like to be closer to the middle of that range.
~ kick the sugar habit
~ complete a Sprint and an Oly both with OWS - My kids' calendar and my lack of a budget make this tricky, but I'm confident I can do them both.
~ continue to run, bike and swim and just enjoy them
~ continue to heart-rate train and try to enjoy it

Emotionally and Relationally
We all deal with hard things, and none of us skates through life untouched by conflict, pain or disappointment. I have to say that this year seemed to be ripe with difficulty. Some of the larger issues...

~ My Nana died earlier this year.
~ My dad's health continues to decline.
~ Two of our four kids are extremely challenging behavior-wise and being home with them all day, every day is exhausting in every sense of the word.
~ I learned that family members have been trash talking us - me in particular - behind our backs for years  because of decisions we've made [legal, reasonable decisions that don't impact any of them].
~ Bill was offered a job with a pay increase. His boss, and his boss's boss, countered with more money so Bill elected to stay at his current job because he likes his job and his coworkers. He has since learned that they lied to him and led him to believe they could authorize the increase. They can't. It has been denied by the powers that be. We're a little upset.

Of course there are things we can control and things we can't. It's important to remember that we can't let these issues - or our response to these issues - define us. 

I could feel this happening to me as boulder after boulder landed on me. It's easy to become wrapped up in the negative, and I was definitely not as joyful or fun to be around.

Though in the end, by God's grace,
~ we'll keep plugging away with our 2 challenging children and trust that one day they'll get their act together - or not, but we can only do so much before they have to take responsibility for themselves.
~ we'll continue with the decisions we've made, and if family members want to spend their time being unkind and tearing other people down, then so be it. We can't control what they say, but we won't let it negatively influence us.
~ and I 'm a big believer in 'what goes around, comes around'. Bill's bosses have to live knowing they lied to a good employee, and they have to face him each day as he continues to work hard and give them his best effort despite what they did. And I think one day they'll look back with regret that they treated him so poorly.

My Personal Goals for 2012 are also pretty simple:
~ Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.  Philippians 1:27a
~ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:9
~ When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to live at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7