dear little ones,
I know you don’t understand, but there is quite the chatter about New Year’s resolutions right now. Many people are resolving to lose weight or exercise more, maybe to quit an unhealthy vice or start something healthy and life-altering. These resolutions come in all shapes and sizes, and while you’re not old enough to have the slightest clue, I’ve come up with a few for you.
Not truly resolutions, by definition, instead these are my new year wishes for you.
May your year be filled with less busy. Less car naps and more nap-time snuggles. Less urgency and more calm.
May your year be full of fun. Not fun by the lighted screen of an electronic device. Instead, fun in the form of board games and puzzles. Playing chase in the backyard, learning to ride your bicycle in the driveway, fort building on rainy days.
May this be your yes year. May you hear yes to baking in the kitchen and fun dates with mom and dad. Yes to spontaneous zoo trips and park adventures. Yes to letting you be little. Yes to post-dinner dance parties. Yes to Let It Go, even though we feel the need to let that song go.
May we let you be little. May you live with a set of expectations meant for a child, rather than a tiny adult. May you be disciplined when needed, loved when needed, and may you be extended grace, even when it feels like there is no more to be given. May you be allowed to mess up, and mess up again, and mess up a thousand times more, and still feel the same love as if you got it right the first time.
May your home be filled with laughter and love. May you wake up with a smile on your face and go to sleep to sweet lullabies and bedtime prayers.
May the adults in your life understand that these days are fleeting. Not just say it, but understand it, feel the urgency. May they pause while doing the dishes and have a concert with you in the kitchen using plastic storage containers and wooden spoons. May they pause folding the sheets and putting away the towels in exchange for make-shift superman capes and make believe heroics on an ordinary Wednesday.
May they hold your tiny hands and trace the outline of your tiny lips. May they rock you to sleep when you reach your tiny hands up to them in the middle of the night. May they let you sleep in the middle when you wander in from a bad dream in the middle of the night.
May this year be slow.
May this year be full of adventure.
May you understand gratitude and give thanks.
May you feel love and in turn give love.
May you know how thankful we are for you each >and every day. And even though you don’t understand, I hope you can feel it from my heart when I hold you tight. You are my gift, this year is our gift, and may you be reminded of that every single day. May you feel celebrated and loved each day, even on a rainy Monday in March or a scorching hot day in August. May each of your days be celebrated, no matter how ordinary they may seem.
This my dear little ones, is my wish for you in the new year.
May it be our best year, only to be topped by the next year.
Serah Roy says
So beautiful! Making this my little ones’ New Year’s wishes as well!
Timsha says
So sweet! I hope 2015 is the best year yet!!
Allison says
Well that made me cry. Beautifully written!
Melissa says
Love this. Hope to carry similar wishes out in my family. Best wishes for 2015 to yours!
Sara says
This is so sweet!!! I love it – and I love these photos!! They should be in a magazine somewhere!! 😉
Caycie Fields says
This!! ❤ I love it!
Justi Buck says
Wow! I love this!!! I feel like you wrote everything my brain thinks, so great! Happy New Year!
Jennifer Vanzant says
Beautifully written jen!
Hayley Chandler says
I couldn’t have said it better. Every word is so true!!! Thank you.
Jenny says
What precious words and such truth. Best post ever. May it be true in our home as well. Thank you.
Jennifer says
Perfectly perfect!
Erin says
So wonderfully and beautifully said. I wish the same sweet things for my precious ones. Thank you for the reminder.