2018 is here.

There’s no hiding under the covers and keeping the blinds closed.
Get your fireworks ready, your party pants on, and a big glass of champagne because in less than 12 hours we will be in a new year.

I spent my morning making cinnamon rolls for R, drinking my shake and writing everything down.
I read the premier issue of Magnolia Journal, and really enjoyed the quiet of the chilly morning in Houston. I took time to reflect on this year, the ups and the downs, count my wins, note my losses, and figure out where I want 2018 to go.

2018 needs to be different.

For multiple reasons, obviously. I want to improve on various levels, for the sake of me. I notice that social media has us brainwashed that if we don’t have the big house with the best decor with the cutest clothes with the expensive car with the perfect body with the clearest skin with the perfect hair all in the prettiest pics, then we aren’t doing enough and don’t have enough.

Now, when we sit and think about this, we know this isn’t true. We are all blessed with our own lives and we are all in this together to make what we have work and strive to do better and be better. That said, it also doesn’t exclude the fact that we have bad habits of comparing.. literally.. everything..

I’m super guilty of this. And then I get into a funk of self loathing and am no longer content with my beautiful life in my beautiful home with my beautiful husband and my beautiful pup. It’s terrible. And then I realize I’m doing it and fall deeper into my funk.

So. Here we come into 2018, and I am determined to be content. To be thankful for my blessings, to be thankful for what I have, and for the things I don’t. I’m determined to love myself for the person I am, and for my quirks, and my flaws, because I wouldn’t be me without them. I’m going to stop scrolling through IG with a tinge of jealousy and be joyful for the woman on the other end of the phone. I’m going to stop comparing myself to others in a different season of life. I’m going to be eternally grateful for the breath of life I receive, and do more with less.

With the struggles of 2017 come the triumphs of 2018. So, ready or not, I’ll see you all next year.
-Kat