2012 : Achievement

I have been intending to join in with Kate on Thin Ice and the fantastic #Get Grooving initiative for a few weeks now.  Time has not been on my side.  However, although I may not have penned my post, it has been formulating and evolving in my mind, so I am not surprised that at my first opportunity to power up the laptop I have felt compelled to get it written.

I first started joining in with the 'Groovy Mums' blog hop at the end of last year and into the beginning of 2012 because it was a way of tracking what I was doing with my life.  I was entering a second year of being a stay-at-home mum.  I was used to not getting up and going out to 'work' and settled into my 24/7 job of raising two children. 

I craved some structure however.  Groovy Mums encourages you to look at ways to improve things in your life, and subsequently the lives of those around you.  To take steps to improve yourself, no matter how small.  To think about what you want out of life and think about how you can get it.

At the beginning of the year I set down a list of Hopes and Aims for 2012.  It was quite an extensive list and incorporated aims for us as a family and for myself personally.  After my initial post I wondered if I had aimed for a little too much in one year, given that I have a severely disabled son and an extremely hot headed Toddler to look after.

Then I slapped myself on the wrist.  That sort of attitude was not going to get me anywhere.  Instead of looking at the lengthy wish list as a whole, I decided I would focus on one or two items each month.  I am not going to go into a long detailed run down of them all, there are various posts already with updates.  The long and short is I achieved them all bar TWO.  And with that I am pretty damn proud.

What I am more proud of is, as I have been thinking about all of this, the realisation of all the extra things that have been achieved this year.  Not just little insignificant things either.  Big things :

* I started publishing some fictional writing.  I have never done this in the past purely due to fear.  I have also started working on a few 'novel' ideas that have been rattling around in my mind.  I have subscribed to a Writing Magazine, which has introduced me to lots of ideas, information and the idea that I might enter work into competitions. 

* I attended my first blogging conference and met some wonderful fellow bloggers.  This was also a nerve-racking step but I am so glad I took it.  Roll on BritMums Live 2013.

* We took the bull by the horns and applied for some specialist equipment for J1.  These were things that we had only ever believed to be 'wish' items, but I am so happy that we persevered.  They are going to make such a huge difference to all of us because they will open up activities for us to all enjoy that we have never been able to before.

* We also took the plunge and booked a family holiday of a lifetime.  We could have always been 'put off' by the amount of research and fact finding it requires but many incidences this year have made me very aware of how grown up J1 is becoming and we became determined that it could be made to happen.

* The Hubby and I have both found an individual hobby each to enjoy.  Mine is running.  I set a goal of participating in The Great South Run in October and am pleased to say I completed it.  My next goal is our local Half Marathon in March.

* I have started doing some volunteer work for a fabulous cancer charity GRACE.

So I think, as we hurtle towards the end of 2012, that if I had to use one word to describe our year it would be 'Achievement'.  This is very pleasing and I would like to think that as a family we can give ourselves a big old pat on the back.

What word would sum up 2012 for you?

If you want to make changes to your life, no matter how big or small, take a look at the inspiring posts from Kate on Thin Ice.  Kate encourages you to always keep going, even if you feel you may be treading water.  When you think about it, usually turns out you are achieving more than you think.  Link your posts to inspire others, or get inspired if you are lacking motivation.

Now I need to start thinking about what we can achieve in 2013 - the possibilities really could be endless...