It’s December, and though it is easy to get sucked into the holidays, I am taking some time to reflect on my life in 2019 and consider what I want to do in the coming year.

I started reflecting on 2019 yesterday. I just opened a Word document and started writing all the major points that came to me, with generous use of bullets. (Damn I love a good list.) It’s mostly done, but as I was walking today, I realized I forgot to include my decluttering victories. I’m going to give my subconscious a week or so to sort through 2019 before I turn my document into a blog post.

I like this exercise of looking back at 2019 because as a Stay at Home Mom, sometimes it seem like I do so little. So much of my vocation involves little mundane To Do’s like flossing my kids’ teeth and sweeping dried spaghetti bits off the floor. But looking back at the entire year, I can see how much I have grown as a person, and that is very encouraging.

As for 2020, I realize that I cannot control everything that will happen. If I learned anything from 2019, it’s that life is full of uncertainty. But it still feels good to set some goals and intentions. Just twenty minutes ago, I opened another Word document and started listing ideas for what I want to do in 2020. I’m trying to be ambitious yet realistic while also realizing I need to stay flexible.

For example, I know I want to continue deepening my spirituality in 2020, and I have a few ideas how I can do this, but spirituality is a journey. I might start the year thinking I want to go to church with my family at least 20 times but discover that what we really want to do is take weekend hikes and talk about nature. Who knows! My goals and plans are starting points to ignite some momentum, but they are not commandments carved in stone. Instead, by reflecting on my goals for 2020, I am basically buying a ticket to travel around Europe, and I may stay in Europe for the entire year, but it’s just as likely that I’ll end up in India, Australia or Antartica.

And you know what? I think that’s marvelous! I’d love to explore the villages and castles of Europe, but I’d also like to see the Taj Majal, the Great Barrier Reef and the march of the penguins in real time.

Of course, this is all just a long analogy! In 2020, we will travel to Las Vegas and Nebraska and maybe take a weekend trip to San Diego. As uncertain as life can be, I am certain that 2020 is not the year that the Novaks voyage to the South Pole.

Then again, who knows???