Reflection 2009

I reread my post of January 1, 2008 and I will repeat some of it here in order to remind myself of the importance of reflection in my life. As this is the first day of the year what better time to recommit myself to the practice of internal reflection than today. Many of us spend a great deal of time looking at our external reflection so we can evaluate our physical appearance. But how much more important it is to look inside yourself and reflect on what you have done with your life so far; to decide whether you are happy with what you have done or need to do some things differently. Today is a good day to look at your actions and accomplishments for the past year and determine what you would have done differently and then make your plans for the new year.

Although I reflect often on my life I am not good at recording my reflections or the events of my life. Therefore it is sometimes difficult to evaluate my growth and progress. So here I am at the beginning of another year pledging once again to use this blog on a regular basis. Hard-copy journals don't work for me but I would love to leave my children something of my inner self for their future reading. Also my husband thinks I am a mystery because he doesn't often understand my motivations. I think they are perfectly clear and my children understand better than DH because each of them is like me in some way. DH and I are opposite in personality but we share the same family and moral values. We love each other deeply and I believe we balance each other giving us a rich and happy marriage but my reflections here might help my DH to understand me better.

During 2009 I will work on my fitness so I can stay healthy and therefore continue to live life to the fullest; enjoying my family, my work, and my hobbies.


Happy New Year to all my online friends and may 2009 bring you peace, health, happiness and prosperity.

Cinco de Mayo

To many people in the world El Cinco de Mayo commemorates freedom but for me it is the anniversary of my aunt and uncle. These two very special people waited for me to be born so they could set their wedding date since my mother was to be the matron of honor and my father the best man. They have been like parents to me in many ways but were also just some one I could turn to when I did not want to speak to my parents. This is the value of an extended family. I grew up with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. There was always someone around I could go to if I didn't want to confide in my parents. Even though our homes were different ( some noisy, some quiet) the values were the same. I remember having cousins coming to my house to talk to my parents and I couldn't understand why. My parents were so strict. Well so were my aunts and uncles but they didn't have to enforce the rules for me so it was easier to talk more freely. Weekly all the families got together at my grandfather's house. The parents in the living room and the children in one of the extra bedrooms where we were allowed to play. Now I imagine that they discussed the children as well as world affairs on those Sunday afternoons. I'm sure it never occurred to us that they actually talked to each other about us but they did. In that way they knew how and what we were doing and we felt we had a someone we could comfortably talk to. So I thank my family for providing me with a loving supportive environment to grow up in. And to the aunt and uncle whose anniversary is today thank you for always loving me and for showing me how to love forever.