With new eyes

Happy New Year! A whole new year lies ahead. I feel like I've been handed a brand new clean slate upon which to sketch, to give shape, to color and imagine this new year. More than the strokes of my chalk on this new slate, I am tempted to linger with this feeling of newness. It is a a chance to look with fresh eyes, to let bygones be bygones, to leap forward with the wisdom of past experiences and the excitement of new moments that lie ahead.

It is with this sense of newness, of freshness, the excitement of the unknow and unseen, I hold in my heart these intentions. This year, and every year hence, I hope to glance, to behold, to inspect, to witness, to beam and to wink at my young boy and other children in these ways …

… when he says, "No!", I hope to understand why instead of pushing him

… when he wakes up in the night, instead of saying, "what now!", I hope to ask, "how are you?"

… when he just won't try something, I hope to say, "Take your time"

… when he tries something that seems out of his reach, I hope to say, "Lets do it!"

… when he falls and cries, upset at his failure, I hope to say, "You tried so hard, I saw that. I understand your frustration. I hope you try again."

… when he succeeds and leaps, I hope I say, "How do you feel?" instead of "Wow, you are good!"

… And when I can't live up to these hopes, I hope I say to myself, "Take it easy. You are trying and that's what counts."

Happy New Year to you! What will you see with new eyes this year?