This morning we slept past nine o'clock and finally rolled out of bed. Mr. I offered to cook me breakfast with some coaching (he is not the chef in our family) but I was really in the mood for just cereal... so we ate breakfast out on the deck. The morning was sunny but there was just enough coolness in the air to be refreshing and pleasant. After breakfast I read on the couch for a while (I'm reading The Wind-up Bird Chronicles... I love Haruki Murakami for summer reading) and then as my eyelids grew heavy, I moved back to bed and napped until noon.
When I woke up, Mr. Ibis was out. I went to the computer to look at Facebook and there was an envelope leaning against the monitor - my card from Mr. I. There is honestly nothing I love more on holidays or birthdays than my cards from my husband. He always writes the sweetest things, and they always make me laugh and cry a little. After I read his card I took a shower, and when I got out he was back. He'd brought me my gift from the dog (Mr. I's gift was the concert we went to two weeks ago), complete with a card from the dog.
This afternoon my mother-in-law threw a birthday party for me at her house, with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their kids in attendance. We had dinner, cake, and opened presents. Yes, I still get presents at 31, haha. It was a nice time. My mother-in-law is convinced I have a little baby bump already, even though I am wearing a babydoll style shirt today. She may actually be right, it's so hard to tell bloat from baby at this stage. But when I looked at my bare belly facing front in the mirror today it looked like I do have a little round bump in front maybe!
So I have this tradition that I stole from a guy I briefly dated years ago. Rather than making resolutions on the New Year, he would determine that each year of his life was the Year of Something, starting on his birthday. It can be something silly like the Year of Eating Cheese, or something a little deeper. The "rule" I've tagged on is that you shouldn't think too hard about it, just listen to what your intuition tells you the coming year will be. The year I turned 30 it was the Year of Being More Assertive. I was stepping up my responsibilities at work and it seemed time for me to start speaking up for myself a little more. I think I did pretty well, too.
Today as I got in the shower I pondered what this year will be and for a moment I considered the obvious something about motherhood, but I thought it should be even grander and more all-encompassing... and it hit me - it will be the Year of Loving Life. I think this year will bring some challenges, some wonderful times, some hard times, and I want to do my best to embrace them all, to be not just grateful or accepting, but to really love my life and everything that comes my way this coming year.
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