It’s January 2018 and we’re off to a wonderfully slow start. Ryan didn’t take much leave last year which meant that he could spend a few weeks at home over Christmas and New Year. It’s been great having him around and ‘just being’ as a family. We spent a few glorious days away at Africamps in Robertson in early December and are joining my folks in Greyton next week but besides for that we’ve just been staycationing hard as a family – a few fun outings here and there, lots of swimming and general hibernation from the outside world.

We’ve been asked a few times about our resolutions for this new year (it’s a popular point of conversation this time of year!) and our usual response is ‘survive’ but this year we’re hoping for more than that. Ryan has coined the term ‘surthrival’ which describes the meeting point of  ‘surviving’ and ‘thriving’ and I think this is a realistic goal for us at this stage in our life. The kids are still little and although much of our time is spent simply meeting their everyday immediate needs, we’ve seen glimpses of them playing together better these holidays and overall they’re becoming less needy and whiny.

Times are changing!

Judah has finally come out of nappies completely which officially marks the end of the toddler stage for us. He’s got more chatty and has overcome his fear of the pool – we can now take the kids swimming and watch them from the side of the pool which is something I never thought we’d be able to do. He’s still speaks a lot of nonsense but is speaking some real sentences in between the random unrelated thoughts he likes to express.

It’s the year of Grade R interviews for Kira and we’re holding thumbs that she gets to wear the same uniform that I did when I was her age. She’s a delightful storm in a teacup and adds colour to our family life in no uncertain terms. 2017 was a tough one for our Kira but she’s growing up beautifully and becoming more and more independent every day. She has spent the holidays having an extended ‘sleepover’ in the boys’ room but will transition back to her pink big girl room tomorrow.

Ilan starts Grade 1 this year and is counting down the days until the start of term. I wish I had my phone ready to video his reaction to seeing himself in the mirror after trying on his school uniform for the first time – there were high fives to his reflection and some impressive dance moves. It was so ridiculously sweet that Ryan and I were in tears of laughter.

And so the year begins. I’ve not had much time to myself to properly set goals yet, but I’ve been inspired by this quote: ‘If you don’t take the time to design and plan your life, you will have to settle for what life gives you.’ I’ve spent much of my past six years of motherhood on the back foot, reacting to life and ticking off to-dos but I feel like this is the year for more margin in my life to design the life I want for me and my family. I’ll let you know how we get on.

 

6 comments on “Hello 2018! The Year of ‘SURTHRIVAL’”

  1. Interesting reflections on the past year, Jules. Looking forward to sharing more happy, funny, amusing, growing, enriching experiences with you and your precious brood. Feel so priviledged xxx

  2. Wow that quote has uspired me so much, especially as we have moved back to CT and have quite a few unknowns in our life at the moment. Do you know who is responsible for the quote? Thanks for sharing! Megan xxx

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