My oldest daughter has always tried to stay up to see the ball drop on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve. She usually falls asleep before they get to any of the special guests stars. However, on December 31st 2018 she was able to make it work. Long after her little sister and daddy had fallen fast asleep Audery and I put on our party hats. We grabbed our noise makers and our sparkling grape juice in solo cups. I could hear the excitement in Audery's voice as she counted down and watched the ball descend. She had literally waited 6 years of her life to accomplish this one goal. When we reached the number one and the ball exploded with lights she blew her noise maker and screamed. I was so excited with her that I didn't even care if she woke up her sister and dad. We hugged, kissed, and celebrated the arrival of the year 2019. We sang Auld Lang Syne with none of the correct words but all of the love we could muster. It was truly a celebration.
Despite all the curve balls our family has celebrated a lot this year. My last baby turned one which was totally bitter sweet. Our sweet chubby Edna turned into a Tasmainan Devil toddler in the last year. Eddie has discovered joy in her destruction. My middle redhead has overcome so many of her borderline OCD challenges after some zoom sessions with a therapist. Agatha has finally found a way to manage all her big emotions and anxieties. She still has small setbacks but she has learned how to cope better than most adults in this situation. My oldest started her long walk into puberty with hormonal sassiness and all. Audery also dove head deep into the world or chapter books. My husband and I got to have lunch together every day. We got to hang out every night after the kids went to bed and we loved every minute of it. Every new situation that was thrown at us we tackled like a champ and loved each other more because of it.
We have done things this year that have been unexpected blessings. Our family started bike riding and walking about three hundred percent more. In the beginning of the pandemic our neighborhood put up window scavenger hunts for the kids. A few months later my oldest decided to secretly teach herself to ride a bike. She wanted to surprise her dad for Father's Day. He was completely surprised and proud. My middle redhead finally got her big girl Frozen bike that she wanted. Her borderline OCD created a challenge for riding because she needed both training wheels on the ground at the same time. After falling quite a few times she overcame that challenge and we were able to take a family bike ride to Dairy Queen. My little girls were such champs that they were able to ride almost 4 miles round trip.
My husband and I had to get creative about our recharge time. We were with our lovely little ladies 24 hours a day 7 days a week with no break and no adult only time. After the first few weeks of the lock down with no dates nights in sights we knew we needed some alone love time. We started "Adventure Coffee" every weekend. This is where we would try a new coffee every Saturday morning and see if we liked it. We also started game night and movie night. Every Friday was game night and we would stay up late, usually 10:30 pm, he played his video game and I knitted. Every Saturday night we would have cuddle movie date night with a new cocktail. We honestly had so much fun with these changes we probably will continue on even if we are able to go out for dates again.
This year is going to be a different kind of celebration. Just like my little girl back in 2019 we are all going to be so excited that we finally made it. 2020 has been a hard year for almost everyone. I think everyone will be excited to see it gone. However, I would like to acknowledge the accomplishments that we have all had this year. We have all had a lot of things thrown at us during this difficult year and we all made it through. So make sure that you count your blessings before that ball drops and hold tight to the little and big people that helped you through this most unusual year. Happy New Year!!
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