Happy New Year 2013 Black Eyed Peas for Luck & A Positive Affirmation

The second half of 2011 was a little challenging  for our family. There was unemployment, which led to a great deal of struggle and stress, but in the end we were all healthy, which is what’s most important. I remember entering 2012 with hope and a positive outlook about the future and the possibility of something really amazing happening for us as a family, at the very least I was wishing for a new job for Paul. I even created a personalized calendar for the upcoming year with a  photo of a favorite family memory and a positive affirmation on the cover……..

I figured it couldn’t hurt to send the universe a message. I did one other thing that I had nearly forgotten about until about a week ago. I prepared black eyed peas for the first time. I read if they were eaten on New Year’s Day, it would bring you good luck. Again, I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try and see what 2012 had to offer. Mostly I believe we are in full control of our success and making things happen for ourselves, but if hanging a calendar filled with family photos and a positive statement and eating a bowl of healthy legumes might just bring our family a little luck, then I’m all for improving our chances a little. At the same moment I remembered we had eaten those black eyed peas on January 1, 2012, I also took a good look at the year as a whole and what it brought to my family and I.

We truly had a really awesome year.

The good stuff began happening just a few weeks into January when I received an invitation for us all to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Surely this was a positive sign of what was yet to come. We hadn’t been to Walt Disney World since 2007 (when the photo above was taken) and we have all longed to get back ever since. I had also heard wonderful things about the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and how special it would be to attend the event, especially with my family. We attended as a family and even extended our stay, making that particular week the most unforgettable highlight of our entire year. Not a day went by that I didn’t stop and consciously feel immense gratitude for the experience. I should back up slightly because not long after the invite for that event hit my email’s inbox (or umm, spam folder) Paul got a job offer. Things were really beginning to take a turn for the better, but I have to admit to wondering if it was all a little too good to be true, like somehow we didn’t deserve the good stuff that was happening around us and that it could take another turn. Rather than let those thoughts consume me, I focused on planning the most amazing surprise for Cody’s 18th Birthday, a second trip to Disney in one calendar year. In the midst of that planning and keeping it all a secret from Cody and his brother, something else really wonderful happened. I was approached about a freelance writing job that would offer me a steady income while working from home. Seriously, I share none of this to brag, but rather to acknowledge how fortunate I feel for all of the amazing moments my family and I experienced in 2012. When I hung that calendar and took that first bite (ever) of black eyed peas, I had no idea what the year had in store for us, but I am utterly grateful for all of it and I am so ready to see what 2013 has to offer. Also? I’m no fool. I totally devoured a big yummy bowl of black eyed peas for dinner tonight and I plan to hang another calendar on the wall……because it certainly can’t hurt, right?