Happy Holidays Dear Friends

image via mca

Happy holidays dear friends! Hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and are eating goodies, relaxing, playing games and watching fun movies right into the new year. We had a really peaceful, simple day yesterday. It was lovely. Nice gifts, family time, time with friends and phenomenal weather, beach worthy in fact.

This last week marks the first birthday of Midlife Navy Wife the blog. It's been a wonderful year to get to know so many of you here and on Twitter. We've shared stories good and bad, laughed and cried together. Thank you for your friendship, support and all you have shared with me this last year. You definitely made a huge difference in how I managed the second half of our deployment. Knowing you were out there made me stronger and helped me want to give more to others too. I appreciate so much your support and friendship!

I thought the first half of 2013 would be our big challenge, the second half of a year-long deployment -- but I had no idea what life had in store for us for the second half of the 2013. It's been deeply challenging and even here at the end of the year I don't have a lot of clarity about it all. But we're still standing and giving life our best and hoping for good things to come in the new year.

It's great to have this holiday season to slow down and be grateful for all we do have, to focus on simple pleasures and to take time to enjoy friends, family and life a little more. It is all so precious and we have no guarantees about anything so we truly must enjoy every good moment when it comes.

I have great hopes for 2014 and am determined it's going to be a great year. I'm going to sign up for a class to start out the year, maybe this one. I am ready for more optimism, more joy and more peace. There are so many great online classes out there. Mondo Beyondo is another great one. There is so much great inspiration and so many beautiful teachers out there. It's worth looking for those who inspire joy and happiness for your life and taking time to soak those good things in. No matter what is happening in your life right now you can have joy today. Sometimes you just need a little reminder from someone else.

I'll be checking in more often in the coming year. Looking forward to that. I still have lots of stories to share and look forward to more great talks with you about our shared journey and our unique experiences on that path. I send you my very warmest wishes for a safe and joyful holiday season and year to come.