Next stop... Happiness

Wow! What a trip the last two weeks have been! We've spent so much time with our little boys, and as we've always noticed, they really do blossom when mommy and daddy are around!

But, I must say I am thrilled to finally be sticking my toe in the tepid waters of a new year... There is something about a clean canvas that really gets my creative juices flowing... everything is just so hopeful, so exciting, so possible when a new year opens it's door.

Malakai is starting school in a week's time and I am so excited for him! He could not be more bored and more frustrated within the confines of the home that has been his 'safe place to fall' from his birth. It is perfect though - he's been given everything he's needed here so far, but he's ready, so ready to spread his little wings and get out there into the big world.

I have so much to prepare for him. A signing book so that his teacher knows the signs that he uses and is learning. A letter that I'm writing for the parents of the children in his class. A special meeting, where we will discuss where he is developmentally and where we're working towards.

Oh, here we go! My little boy is leaving the safety and security of our home, where I have been able to guide every aspect of his development, to a place where I no longer have such influence... But I am excited about this, because I know that I do not know everything... and the world... the world is his too.

As for Harlan - he's just so adorable and determined. I think we have a little warrior on our hands. I know that his stubborn nature can make things difficult right now, but in future, it will fuel the fire of his self-realisation. So I am trying to find a way to introduce boundaries without making dull that fiery spirit of his. And this is not easy, but who said parenting would be easy?

As for Darryl and myself - we've got our own dreams this year as well... Dreams that we want to realise, as best we can. And somehow - even after 2010 pushed us and squeezed us and pulled us to our knees - we feel that we have a fighting chance.

So I will end off my first post of 2011 with a quote that I shared when I finally decided to resign from my job and take on writing full-time... When I 'took the leap' into a dark abyss and really prayed that my wings would grow... I think sums up beautifully our vision for the coming year...

"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. The most you can do is live inside that hope, running down its hallways, touching the walls on both sides." - Barbara Kingsolver