Dear 2016

Hello 2016!

I saw you in asleep, sorry about that. It’s not that I wasn’t excited about your arrival, not at all! You know how it is though, a solid few hours of sleep is mythical gold for parents of young children. So when I went to bed at ten, I wished you safe travels through time, and when I was awoken at two, I saw you had slipped in unnoticed. Thanks for tiptoeing!

Your arrival is full of promise for me, did you know that? Of course you do, in some generic, stereotypical way. Your arrival is full of promise and hope for a lot of people. A strange sort of relief, too, much of the time. There must be a lot of pressure on you and I know that sometimes it’ll be impossible for you to deliver, and that’s okay. I understand.

A lot has happened in my little world that you will need to catch up on. 2015 did her best to guarantee she was remembered, that’s for sure. Did she tell you? I started a new job, I studied te reo Maori, I went to Melbourne. I lost 20 kilos (more on that later), found one thousand dollars and cut off my hair. We adopted five chickens, Paul and I celebrate five glorious years together and we bought a TV. My niece went home, I married people on mountains, and I lost my grandmother. These things will impact our relationship, I know that. You will see emotion and loose ends and repercussions from events that you had nothing to do with. I'll do my best to keep you up to speed and not blame you.

And of course, Alice did some amazing stuff. Did you know she isn’t a baby anymore? I know this because she negotiates with me. The next step for both of us is to navigate through these head waters that are the second year (dun dun duuun…) and emerge into young childhood smiling. This will happen in your year, 2016, you lucky thing. You will get to watch every tantrum (Alice’s and mine), hear every ‘I love you’, and see every time I fail. I know you won’t be too judgy…

For me, your arrival brings the possibility for new beginnings and new challenges. I feel that I’m right on the edge of ‘next’. For too long now I’ve been treading water, stuck in the same place while I figure out the balance between family and work and not going mental. Well, I need next.
And I think you’ve got it.

I know you’ve got a lot on your place at the moment, 2016. Resolutions will be flying in from left right and centre. You’re almost like the Cosmic Santa for personal improvement. My goodness, where are you actually going to store all that quit sugar? Well, I don’t need much from you, I plan on doing the work and find the ‘next’ that you carry myself. Teaching will challenge me, my family will thrive, and I will focus once again on trying to enjoy who I am, inside and out. I will make sure of it.
What I need from you, 2016, is for you to be understanding and gentle. Please? Some time to reflect and gather my thoughts would be so, so lovely (2015 managed to find a little time to spare, but I don’t think 2014 knew what ‘peace’ was!). Being on the edge of ‘next’ is exciting but scary, too, and it would be nice to know that a timeframe as substantial as yourself is on my side.

Well, I best be going, and you, too, no doubt. I hope this letter finds you well! Thank you, by the way, for a fabulous first day. First impressions really do matter, after all! I so look forward to getting to you.

With love,

T.