One thing that the ending of a year is good for is looking back at the past 365 days and reflecting on your life. In one way or another I think we all do this. Some people more in depth than others, but it is something we’re trained to do. Or else we wouldn’t have a New Years resolution.
This year as I think back there is a lot to sift through but I think what my takeaway will be for 2017 is quality family time. I don’t really think I got enough of that for my extended family. I don’t mean my husband or kids but I mean my siblings/parents/grandparents.
Saturday I spent most of the day with my grandpa. We were cleaning out one of his bedrooms, eating lunch and talking. It was really nice just being alone with him. I remember some of my favorite times growing up were when my parents would ship us off to our grandparents for a week at a time. The one on one attention was fantastic and now as an adult I realize, I still crave that.
My mom’s mother passed away during Hurricane Harvey this year, but before that, she had started to slowly stop understanding who I was. It had been a while since I had a ‘real’ conversation with her. My dad’s mom has a form of Parkenson’s and doesn’t really speak much. It’s breaking my heart. As a teenager I would call my grandmothers almost every day or every other day. My grandparents were/are some of my best friends. Then I think about my grandpa’s, one is still alive and the other died in 2012. I truly miss them. Well half are alive but I miss the quality of time I used to get with them.
Having kids now my life is in a constant state of business. There is no ‘me’ time to stop and just be with my grandpa anymore. So this Saturday’s lunch just me and him was a real treat. We had Lebanese food, our obvious favorite, and just talked. It really made me think about the time. The time I didn’t force myself to have with Grandma Marietta this year before she passed away. The time that I need to spend with Grandpa Joe and Grandma Elaine while I still have them here.
I know I already am stretched too thin as it is. Between real life work, Girl Scouts, writing, mom duty, etc. but my goal for next year is to carve out more quality family time.
I think something we forget about as adults is that we need to take care of ourselves too. Not just in the health sense but emotional sense too. Spouses and kids are great but there is just something about a grandparent. They were there from the start. They weren’t the ones scolding you all your life, they were the ones spoiling. It was during this lunch that it just really sank home, I need more grandparent time. I am so lucky to be 34 and still have half of mine alive.
So not exactly sure the purpose of this blog post other than to just get my thoughts and feelings out about what my first goal will be for 2018. You know, Ashley Randomness is just that, random.
Until the next time a random thought pops into my head ... I’ll talk to you all later.
This year as I think back there is a lot to sift through but I think what my takeaway will be for 2017 is quality family time. I don’t really think I got enough of that for my extended family. I don’t mean my husband or kids but I mean my siblings/parents/grandparents.
Saturday I spent most of the day with my grandpa. We were cleaning out one of his bedrooms, eating lunch and talking. It was really nice just being alone with him. I remember some of my favorite times growing up were when my parents would ship us off to our grandparents for a week at a time. The one on one attention was fantastic and now as an adult I realize, I still crave that.
My mom’s mother passed away during Hurricane Harvey this year, but before that, she had started to slowly stop understanding who I was. It had been a while since I had a ‘real’ conversation with her. My dad’s mom has a form of Parkenson’s and doesn’t really speak much. It’s breaking my heart. As a teenager I would call my grandmothers almost every day or every other day. My grandparents were/are some of my best friends. Then I think about my grandpa’s, one is still alive and the other died in 2012. I truly miss them. Well half are alive but I miss the quality of time I used to get with them.
Having kids now my life is in a constant state of business. There is no ‘me’ time to stop and just be with my grandpa anymore. So this Saturday’s lunch just me and him was a real treat. We had Lebanese food, our obvious favorite, and just talked. It really made me think about the time. The time I didn’t force myself to have with Grandma Marietta this year before she passed away. The time that I need to spend with Grandpa Joe and Grandma Elaine while I still have them here.
I know I already am stretched too thin as it is. Between real life work, Girl Scouts, writing, mom duty, etc. but my goal for next year is to carve out more quality family time.
I think something we forget about as adults is that we need to take care of ourselves too. Not just in the health sense but emotional sense too. Spouses and kids are great but there is just something about a grandparent. They were there from the start. They weren’t the ones scolding you all your life, they were the ones spoiling. It was during this lunch that it just really sank home, I need more grandparent time. I am so lucky to be 34 and still have half of mine alive.
So not exactly sure the purpose of this blog post other than to just get my thoughts and feelings out about what my first goal will be for 2018. You know, Ashley Randomness is just that, random.
Until the next time a random thought pops into my head ... I’ll talk to you all later.
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