A new year, a new me

One of my many New Year's resolutions this year (yes I actually wrote them down) is to write daily. For as long as I can remember I have always had a love affair with books. As a kid I'd line up all of my stuffed animals on my bed and sit cross-legged among them, reading them picture book after book, making sure to show them all of the pictures. As a middle-schooler my books of choice included The Babysitter's Club, Sweet Valley High/Twins and the likes. I could blow through a book in a couple of days. And today is no different. While finding the time to read between being a Mommy, wife and employed full-time presents its challenges, I still love to get lost in the latest Jodi Picoult drama.

But, something else that I have probably loved for just as long is penning my own stories. I think the first "book" I ever wrote (and illustrated - horribly) was called something along the lines of "The Great Jelly Bean Caper" and involved a rabbit, jelly beans and a mystery (it must have been around Easter). I'll also never forget when my 6th grade teacher asked me to read a story I had written aloud to the class - the assignment had been to write a mystery and my story spanned 12 hand-written single spaced, double-sided pages. I don't remember the details, just the pride I felt as I shared my words with my classmates. In fact, I probably still have it tucked away in a rubber container in the basement if I searched hard enough.

But, bottomline, I love to write. I love to develop characters in my head, outline plot lines on my commute home from work, and type away during my lunch hour or during other free moments (that are few and far between). I feel happy when I write. Hence the resolution to write something, anything, daily.

Secondly, as Emma gets older and older, I want to remember ever single detail from her life. And as she quickly approaches her 2nd birthday it's amazing the things I've already forgotten over the past year. So, not only will my writing daily plan hopefully help me personally...I hope it will also be a chance for me to capture the funny, day-to-day events of her life so she can look back and find a little glimpse into her toddlerhood.

Like the time she flipped out when Uncle Brian took Mommy's purse away:

Or the time that she learned she could crawl into her doll stroller all by herself:

Or when this picture, taken from my mom's annual clam bake, made it into the local paper:

So, while I can't possibly commit to updating this blog daily, I can commit to at least writing SOMETHING daily. Cheers to a great 2011!