New Year(s)

So, the complicated thing about having your birthday less than two weeks after the New Year is that, with the passing of two major milestones in such a short time span, all the pressure to make positive changes in your life is condensed into one intense, multi-day journey of self-reflection, self-loathing, and resolution. It's like a mega-atonement; rather than metering out the self-criticism and self reflection over several months (as, I imagine, one with a July birthday might do), you're taking on all the guilt, promise and desire full-force and in your face.

To illustrate with a classy simile: it's like eating the Kool-Aid powder straight from the crinkled pouch, rather than mixing it with water, per directions. Overpowering, messy and both bitter and sweet at the same time. You may find yourself curled up on the floor, twitching from sugar shock with purple powder on your fingers and lips. But in the end, the visions you had during the process make it all worth it.

Yeah, so that pretty much sums up my previous week or so.

2011 was an intense year. Our family had to adapt to life after rationing, move into the new house, sell our old house, start new schools, deal with the incredibly hot summer (folks, do you remember July?), deal with family drama and then deal with medical dramas. Many of these things were, eventually, positive but nonetheless I was content to wave good-bye to 2011 on January 1st.

Straddling the lintels of both a new calendar year and birth year, I've had a lot of deep thoughts about what I want to do in 2012. There are many things that I want to not do in 2012, as I've been terrible over-committed the past year.

What I do want to do is spend more unstructured time with the girls, just hanging out and watching them blossom. I want to garden more and cook more. I want to dive back in to my embroidery and other crafts. And I want to write.

You may have noticed, but there was a six month period of no new posts here at Rational Living. It was completely unintentional, another casualty of 2011. I became jaded, thinking our rationing project was just an ephemeral thing and no longer relevant. The muse had vanished.

And then in December a couple of new readers stumbled upon the blog. Their comments were kind, encouraging. They made me feel like I might have something worth saying. Thanks, Gill. And friends and family mentioned how much they enjoyed reading the blog - when was I going to post again?

So, in 2012, Rational Living will once again be a "live" blog, with regular postings covering the topics of homesteading, crafting, cooking and whatever else I decide (note: there will most definitely be geeky overtones at times - you have been warned).

Thanks for being patient, kind readers.

Here's to a wonderful 2012!

--Rational Mama

P.S. Just for the record, one of the disappointing things about having your birthday less than two weeks after the New Year is that someone inevitably gives you a calendar for your birthday.