Thoughts on my birthday...

Well, folks, tomorrow is my birthday. While they are not as exciting as they are for our little ones, birthdays have a way of making us pause and reflect on the past year, the future, the present.

This year flew by for me for many reasons. One reason is that my son is in school now. As soon as he started kindergarten last year (he's now finishing up 1st grade), time sped up. Add in sports and extras, and the wheels haven't stopped in our house. Gone are the endless baby and toddler days, and that's mostly a good thing. I'd rather be out, busy, enjoying life than spending time in the house warped in nap schedules and baby routines (so new mamas, take heart-- there's hope!).

Oddly enough, I found this image with the "36" (my new age) on a photo database.
A sign of...something?
Also, I wish that were my cake :).

I also took on more work this year. I tutored throughout the school year, took on a regular contributing writer/reporter position for our local newspaper, and contributed more frequently to magazines and websites. I also renewed my teaching license. 

Whew! 

I'm tired just thinking about it all, but I don't regret the extra time I carved out for these professional and personal pursuits. While taking on more work projects ate up what remained of my meager social and free time, it feels really good to have my foot back in the teaching realm as well as quite a few publications under my belt.So what goals do I have for this next year? Truthfully, I haven't had much time to think about it [see above]. I'll have to keep you posted. I suppose at this point, my motto is 'keep on keeping on!'

How about you? How do birthdays make you feel? Old? Young? Accomplished, or not so much? Do you set goals each year? If so, what are they?

There's still a lot I want to do in my life. I hope I continue to be inspired in the upcoming year. I hope to be a content wife and mother while making room for my own passions and career.

And of course, I hope to write fresh posts on my trusty Frantic Mama blog for another year!

~Julia @ Frantic Mama