To Resolve or Not To Resolve?

We left 2012! The year in which people predicted the world's end; the year in which Ben and I got married. It's been an incredibly happy year full of love and laughter so I guess I should be feeling a little hesitant to leave it behind. The reason I'm not is that fortunately we get to carry all the beautiful memories from last year with us forever- and the way 2012 transpired gives me such tremendous hope for all the wonder and joy this year can bring.

 

Last New Year's Eve I couldn't have imagined the things that would happen in 2012. I didn't know I'd be dating Ben yet all of this happened:

 

7th January - First Date

14th January - First Kiss

28th January - Became 'official'

14th April - Engagement

17th August - Wedding

 

Who knows what this year will bring if at the beginning of last year I had no idea about any of that? Bearing this fact in mind I find it quite hard to come up with resolutions.

 

I've come to associate New Year's Resolutions with a very low success rate. I'm not very good at coming up with realistic goals that I can work on over the year and I'm pretty rubbish at remembering to follow up the challenges I set myself. Most of all, I think my resolves to become better are less likely to be really meaningful if they're 'heat-of-the-moment', emotionally-charged declarations of intent.

 

So, rather than writing a list of New Year's Resolutions I'll never carry out I'm going to determine to continue with projects that have already been meaningful to me this year; just adding a little something to them. For example; Ben and I were both absolute novices in the kitchen when we got married. Yesterday we made pasta with homemade pesto (goodfood- obviously!); which may sound ridiculously easy and in the reality Ben and I inhabit now, it was. However, last year both of us would have run a mile from a recipe we didn't know. Admittedly, 'we' (read: Ben) didn't read it properly so we didn't put any olive oil in it at all.... BUT it still tasted pretty good, if a bit tangy. I want to start making sure we have these recipes we're using multiple times printed and in a folder. It's something I've been thinking about but by the end of this year I want it to be a reality.

 

This year I'll be working on things like that.

 

This week has been lovely in so many ways. We've spent time with family, friends and each other. One of the many highlights was going to London to a classical concert at the Barbican with Ben's parents. The music was just exceptional and it has been such a wonderful year to be British that we waved our flags with gusto!

 

Tchaikovsky Excerpts from The Nutcracker Suite Puccini O soave faniculla
Sousa Liberty Bell March
Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture
Sibelius Finlandia
Verdi Brindisi
Strauss Die Fledermaus Overture
Delibes Prelude and Mazurka from Coppélia Elgar Nimrod
Handel Excerpts from 'Music for the Royal Fireworks'
Adam The Holy City

Rule, Britannia!
Nessun Dorma
Jerusalem
Land of Hope and Glory
Fantasia on British Sea Songs

 

During daily life it can be so hard to find time to really enjoy being with your spouse but this week that's been really possible. In doing so you learn things about each other. I have learned that Ben has a memory like a sieve especially when it comes to leaving things behind (examples: rental agreement, dvds, camera, olive oil) AND so do I. Recently on leaving our friends' home we realised that I'd left my laptop lying next to our seat. Fortunately, this was noticed before we drove away. Between Ben and I there is not much hope of anything being remembered! Seriously, if you invite us over you can expect to have unintentional loans of pretty much anything we carry into the house with us.

 

I guess that makes us good friends to have, right?

 

This week I've really thought a lot about the value of good friends. I got back in touch with a friend of mine that I haven't seen in well over a year- maybe even nearing two- this week and we're having a catch-up session on Friday and I seriously can't wait. Ben had a similar experience over Christmas of seeing a friend he hadn't seen for a number of years as the friend and his family live in New Zealand. For me, it was lovely to meet people that have been great examples to Ben.

 

Then, we had the opportunity to spend time with a family who have been Ben's best friends really for a long time and who I have had the pleasure of getting to know throughout my relationship with Ben. There are some people in the world who automatically make you feel comfortable, loved and only marginally ridiculed and those people have a value beyond measure. The family I'm talking about have an open-door policy and whenever we visit with them they make us feel like they'd love us to be there every day and that they'd never tire of us! While I suspect that that can't possibly be true it is a talent to be so hospitable that we never go away feeling that we outstayed our welcome. It's a feeling of real friendship.

 

I'm looking forward to a year full of hard work, new horizons, time with family and friends, developing new friendships and completing the first year of marriage with a flair!