Happy 2010 - The power of yet

Happy New Decade, Happy New Year, Happy New Day to each of you!

It's no secret that I strive to look at each day as its own miracle - - an opportunity for change, growth, possibility. With the turning of the calendar, it's engrained in us culturally to be hopeful and make resolutions. And, while I am all for hope and renewal, I just don't try to find symbolism in the turning of the calendar. That's just me... if it works for you, then more power to you! If I give that much weight to 11:59 on December 31st, and January 1st is a bummer of a day, then I'd tend to look at that as a sign for the year. I can't function like that! (It's the same way I look at a Monday... I don't let that day's outcome drive the rest of the week.)

Tonight, we bid farewell to 2009 and to an entire decade. In doing so, it's hard not to reflect on the changes that have occurred in our world and, of course, our own lives. While I find it so important to look back on where we've been (it only helps us in where we're going), I cannot spend too much time (at once) in a reflective place or I can start to get melancholy. I tend to question... overthink. Did I (or we) make the right choices? Did I (or we) do enough? I "what-if" everything that's already in the past rather than look forward. So, I (try to) reflect just enough to fuel the move forward.

As I look back on the last decade, there is just too much change (growth) to wrap my head around. Where John and I were as a couple (young, childless, wide-eyed at the possibilities of "our own" world), what was important to us (some of the truly important things, but not nearly as many of those as now), where we thought we were going (ah... the best laid plans), what we thought parenthood would look like (it's so much better, yet so much harder). It's impossible for me to imagine what ten years from now will be like. And, I won't try. If I have learned anything in the last ten years, it's that I can't possibly presume to know.

Likewise, if I reflect back to this time last year, I couldn't have foreseen where life would be today. So many changes. Good and bad. Some came easily. Others, much, much harder. So many miracles. Some disappointments. So many wonderful moments captured in our minds forever, stored in our souls like reserved breaths for those days when even breathing seems hard. The days when the power of yet seems too hard to fathom.

What's "the power of yet," you ask? It's quite simple, really. It's a tiny, three-letter word we learn as children, but for me, the meaning and power of which was not fully understood until I became Gracie's mom. I like to share "yet" with new moms of children with special needs as they learn to cope with delays in development or medical setbacks. It's something I use to turn a seemingly negative into a positive... it encourages possibilities... for every person and every situation.

For instance, last year at this time, a statement might have been:
- Gracie is not going to school full-time... yet. (She is now!)
- Gracie is not ready to use a reverse walker full-time... yet. (She is working on it!)
- Gracie is not ready to use a manual wheelchair... yet. (She's ready and waiting for her own chair!)

Or:
- We haven't made new friends here... yet. (We have made some great friends now and have new friendships forming. And, tonight for our last meal of the year, we shared a delicious dinner with dear, new friends who were our "yet" friends last year.)
- This new place doesn't feel like home... yet. (It does now!)

Things happen in their own time, as they're meant to, and we only need to believe in the possibility... the power of "yet." Today, I share it with you and encourage you to try it. It's empowering and it's hopeful - - a fitting concept for the new year and decade - - a fitting concept for every new day.