Before moving forward…

Before sharing my New Year’s journey… I first need to acknowledge the great blessing that our family received during the holidays.

We’ve struggled the last little bit. We have all our essentials and we treat ourselves to various things, so it’s not something we talked about or really worried about. But, we were not really sure what to do about Christmas for two kids.

And just as the middle of December hit, packages start coming to our door. Some fun things to eat and share right then… but also these other things that had each member of our family in mind. On Christmas Eve after participating in our family traditions and putting the kids to bed, we put everything around our tree. After dinner on Christmas day when we were all back together, we had a round-robin where we got to open all of the presents and play some games.

The person(s) that surprised and treated our family were answers to our unspoken prayers and eased my worries of making sure the boys had a great day. We were even treated to a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, which we got to share with some of our Idaho family.

New Year’s Eve… we spent at home. We went to bed before midnight and enjoyed a restful slumber. On New Year’s Day, I bundled up and hopped in the car with a friend to be part of the Womeness in the Wilderness Snowshoe Hike.

I’m not sure how many miles we hiked but I had a moment that I have never experienced. Hiking makes me nervous, especially inclines and descents. Mostly because I’m never sure how my left leg will manage with the terrain. So, when we got to the trail and the group decided to go up the incline route, I was anticipating being nervous or less than surefooted.

That did not happen this time. Instead, I positioned myself in the middle of the pack, and then I started climbing. No second thoughts about it. I knew my legs would carry me. It wasn’t an easy effort, but as the indomitable bellatrix that I am/hope to be, I knew that could do it and that I wasn’t alone. I trusted the other Womeness around me. That confidence and trust are new for me. And it feels damn good.