The holidays are over and a new year is beginning.

sunset

On the 31st of December, my grandmother died.

(Willa with her great-grandmother)

Willa and great-grandma
She was 92 and had Alzheimer’s and though she could still remember some, she was declining. At Christmas, she got the flu and a lung infection. My father got sick at the same time and as he already has lung disease, he went into the hospital within days of getting sick. My grandmother got better but then became sick again and died two days later.
The same day she died I went to a friend’s for a new years party. I felt conflicted but it was exactly what I needed. We had a great evening and great conversations into the night. I met new people and made new friendships with people I already knew. We slept over and continued our conversations until we left mid afternoon. With my grandmother’s death I felt the need to visit my dad and my other grandmother who was bringing in the new year with a few other family members. Spending new years with my family is something I haven’t done in years but I headed to Montreal with an open mind. It turned out to be a very nice visit with my uncles, aunt, my cousin and my mom. And, of course, my grandmother was so happy to have the family there.
We got home and spend the next two days relaxing and just having family time and doing some basic cleaning.

Simon went back to work today and the kids are playing and I just went over our budget and then entered my breakfast in my food log and I have a feeling this is going to be a good year.

We are still planning on putting the house up for sale this year and slowly our decluttering efforts are changing the way our house looks and runs. During the holidays I decluttered our room. Now, all the clothes I have are ones that fit and that I will and do wear. Doing the closet left enough space for us to move Simon’s dresser into the closet which meant that we could move Wilhelmina’s bed into our room. Not only does it make the room more functional but even if we have one more piece of furniture in the room, it actually looks bigger and even less cluttered.

I don’t make resolutions with the new year but something has clicked in the last few days. Though I have recording our expenses and “budgeting” for years, I realized I was making mistakes. But now, I recognize those mistakes… and when you know better, you do better. With a new view on finances and a big goals for the year I am starting the year off fresh and with plans and I am feeling inspired.