Planes, Trains, and Running Shoes

It's a little late for a New Year's post but I've been trying to think about what to write for my first post of the year...and first post in over a month.

I've seen so many posts slamming the whole "New Year, New Me" mentality but in my case, it isn't so much a mentality as a reality. This year, I'm a mother and, I've settled into a much different routine with very different priorities. 

I'm also starting a new job this month, moving out of the world of consulting into academia and I'm wildly excited about. In a lot of ways, I feel like this job is the dream job I never knew existed. I know that's saying a lot before I've even started but everything about this just feels right. And I think that's saying a lot considering I wasn't looking for a new job and definitely wasn't planning to leave where I was. I was happy there and comfortable but we grow when we leave our comfort zones so I'm looking forward to it.

I do love the start of the New Year and thinking of what the year will bring. I already know that this year is going to be fun. Aurora will say her first words, take her first steps, and experience so many firsts! And I'll be along for the ride juggling a new job with parenting and running and reading and yoga and all the things I've done before, trying to maintain some semblance of me in this new role. I know it won't be easy and if I've learned anything from parenting, it's to stop putting pressure on myself. The dishes might pile up but if Aurora wants to play, I'm going to play with her. 

That said, I do like goals so here are my (hopefully realistic) goals for the year, and how I've done in January to date!

Read 3 books each month. I crushed this in January, reading a total of 6 books! I always want to make reading a priority, especially now that I have a baby. I want her to see me reading and do the same when she's older. It helps that she's at an age now where she's too distracted to nurse in anything but a quiet room where I can get some reading done!

Run a marathon. I'm not quite running yet but I'm doing a combination of walking with running and plan to be running again in a few weeks. I have my sights set on a fall marathon. As much as I'm still dying to get that sub-4 marathon off my back, I don't have any time goals. I just want to tackle the distance again. It's been way too long.

Keep traveling. I was shocked at how many people asked me how I reconciled giving up travel for a baby. I've never had any intention of giving up travel. We got Aurora her passport for Christmas and, while we haven't used it yet, we will soon. In her 3 and a half months, we've taken her to Virginia, New Jersey, and Florida. Next up is a trip to Texas and then we'll start thinking about an international trip. Traveling with a baby, so far, is easy. I have no expectations that it will stay that way but I don't think that means it has to stop. 

Maintain a regular yoga practice. Every January, I do Yoga with Adriene's 30 Day Yoga Challenge. This year was no different. I'm about a week behind since long travel days and a sinus infection got in my way but I never actually thought I would be able to do the challenge in 30 days with a baby. I gave myself the grace and space to step off the mat when I needed to. Sometimes that meant that a 20-minute video took an hour because she woke up from a short nap or got fussy but I still got it done. I'm carrying the challenge into February and have every intention of completing it by the middle of the month and then, we'll see! I'm lucky to belong to a gym that offers both yoga and childcare but I haven't actually taken any classes yet. Usually, I can get to the gym and get in a 30-35 minute workout before she wakes up and needs to eat but now that she's a little bit older, her naps are getting longer and she can play independently. 

It's strange to look ahead at this year. In a way, everything has changed but in a lot of ways, things are the same. I had a lot of time to think about what life after a baby would look like (more time than I wanted) and even though everyone says you can't prepare for a baby, I think I was pretty well prepared. As for my blog, I'll post in this space when I can but I'm not going tp make ambitious promises like I have in years past. It's taken me close to a month to write this post (because I was reading so much!) but I'm hoping to be back soon!

Happy New Year!

2017. What a year. 2017 bent me and broke me in so many ways and I am so ready to move past the hurt, grief, and fear and welcome in 2018 with open arms and an open heart. I know that midnight on New Year's won't magically make anything better and, while almost everything that happened last year was out of my hands, I'm concentrating on doing more in 2018 to take care of myself. 

I think a big reason 2017 was so hard was because I didn't have anything to fall back on when life came crashing down.

This year, I want to focus on being more mindful and intentional. I was hurt by a lot of people in 2017 and spent a lot of time dwelling on that. I wish I could say I'm ready to forgive and forget but I'm not at that point yet. I am at the point, though where I'm ready to let go and move on. I've never really set New Year's resolutions, I've always set goals but this year, I'm actually resolving to do things to live more mindfully this year.

For the third year straight, I'm doing Yoga with Adriene's 30 Day Yoga Challenge. Yesterday, I watched the "Orientation" video and I feel like this challenge was created specifically for me. 

I really want to grow my yoga practice this year. The 30 Day Challenge has always been a good start but I don't ever keep up with a regular practice beyond that. Usually, by April, I'm practicing once or twice a month as opposed to 3-4 days each week. 

I also want to start a meditation practice. I've downloaded Headspace but rarely make time for it. I want to change that this year and take the time to spend 10 minutes every day just breathing and taking a moment to myself to look inward. 

I want to spend less time on my phone and more time outside. It might be 5 degrees in Baltimore right now but grief locked me in last year and I'm ashamed to say that there were entire weeks when I didn't even leave our apartment. I wish I could say I'm exaggerating because this was terrible for me, physically, but especially mentally!

This year, I want to blog more. The last two years I've let work completely overtake my life and I've stopped reading blogs and posting and baking regularly and doing a lot of the things I love. Working from home 3-4 days every week has its benefits but it also means I have a tendency to let work overflow into my entire day. My new home office is on the 1st floor of our house whereas the rest of our living space is upstairs. I'm hoping this physical separation will help me shut down by 5:00 every day. I have so many half-written blog posts that I've put together over the last year and fun ideas for my blog I really want to make this space a priority, especially now that we're underway on projects for the house!

For the first time since I can remember, running isn't going to be a priority for me this year. I'm not planning any races or PR goals. This year, I want to run just to run. I've had a lot of running injuries over the years that started to creep up again last year and I want to take some time off from hard running to reset so that I can keep running well into my 30s and beyond.

As for travel, well, aside from family, this has always been my first priority in life! I know that another trip to Paris is on the horizon but aside from that, we'll see where the wind takes us!

What are you resolving in 2018?

Are you planning any fun trips this year?