Where does one begin to set goals for next year?

So many people look at losing weight and some look at planning for trips or new houses or cars. I decided to look into my heart.

Many things happened in 2013, heck, the last two months to make me realize that it isn’t material things. We can’t take that with us.

One of the best quotes I’ve ever seen was by Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This is where I find myself today. I’ve nearly lost another of my loved ones in the past few months. I realized immediately I needed to let that person know how I felt. I didn’t want them to pass away without knowing how much I cared about them. I realize how incredibly important it is to show your love while you still can.

Part of showing your love in my opinion, is living truthfully and trying to see the goodness in everyone. This means handing out compliments when they are due and also talking about some hard topics when the time is right. We can’t always be sunshine and lollipops all the time.

Knowing this, and knowing that another year is upon us, I feel it is important to remember to stay true to ourselves and to our loved ones. In 2014 I want to share more. I want to love more. I want to get out and enjoy doing things I want to do with people that I care about and perhaps meeting new people for me to care about. Most of all, I want to live more.

Life is short. It is precious and we should really take the time to savour the moments we have with one another. So in passing, I’d like to share one of my favourite quotes with one of my favourite photos taken in 2013. The photo was taken in Port Clinton, Ohio at sunrise on my 10 year anniversary of the day my husband and I started dating. It was a very special morning and I am glad that we have these images to share with you.