This New Year Has a Whole New Meaning

I don't really believe in resolutions, and I sort of want to punch those people who are all, "New Year, new me" (sorry if you're one of them....sort of), but as I watched 2017 become 2018 - from our bed with our little human between us because she seemed to think it was cool to celebrate my impending return to work with some good ol' sleep regression -  I couldn't help but admit that 2017 was one heck of a year. 

In January, we found out that we were going to have a little human.  Gasp, we were going to be responsible for a teeny, tiny person - First thought: Are we cut out for this?  Second thought: We better get Baby his or her own travel duffel.

In the months that followed, I learned that I was pretty good at feigning control. Each day I stood in front of my class and managed not to vomit (morning sickness is a real and cruel beast and lasts all.damn.day) and  I prepared to part way with some of my favorite foods - avocados and bubble water - as the mere thought of them turned my stomach inside out. I never did throw up on any child or in any hallway at work, so there's that. 

Brian and I managed to squeeze in some good adventures, visiting the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany over Spring Break.  We slowly began to share the news with friends and family and happily accepted the confidence they had in our parenting abilities, even when we weren't so sure of ourselves.   I traded morning sickness for a growing belly and killer heartburn.  Again, I did my best to look composed and, well, presentable (who wants to brush her hair or put on a face when her insides feel like they are melting?!), as the school year rolled on.  

Summertime meant preparing for our little human; I spent many hours organizing and reorganizing, vacuuming and re-vacuuming every space in our house (no, I wasn't nesting....I was enjoying summer as I always do), and when I wasn't doing that, I was preparing the mother of all binders for my long term sub.  It's good I don't believe in New Year's resolutions or I am sure I would have attempted to curb my obsession with schedules and to-do lists, and then what would I have done with my time? 

I found myself back at work as fall - ahh, fall, the best time of the year - approached.  And our little one was fully cooked and cooperative, and made her arrival after I met my students and before my dad and brother left for their long-planned Colorado trip, one I was sure would mean they would miss the arrival of our little one.  September 7th was the most transformative day of my life, no doubt; as HQ leaned to human, as her father says, I learned how to function with little to no sleep, shower in under three minutes, change diapers in the dark, and keep the cutest, most wonderful littler person alive and, dare I say, thriving. 

In 2018, we will continue to do our best to travel, to grow professionally, to help our little one navigate this world.  No resolutions needed because I'm truly living the dream!