Setting a Healthy Intention for 2021

Happy 2021 friends!

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 was a challenging year for us human beings as a whole. I never could have pictured quarantining for months, watching my little one 24/7 while running a small business, making grocery store trips every 3 weeks with a mask on, and not seeing family members who live only 2 hours away for a good part of the year.

But despite 2020’s hardships, I move into this new year with a grateful heart and an optimist look ahead. January always gets me motivated to set new goals and intentions, and my mantra for the year is to live consciously.

I want to be mindful about my attitudes & perceptions. ⠀
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How I parent. ⠀
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How I love my husband, family & friends. ⠀
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The work that I do. ⠀
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The food that I eat. ⠀
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The ways I challenge my body & my mind. ⠀
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The ways I rest my body & mind. ⠀

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Living mindfully isn’t a new concept to me, but admittedly in 2020, I found myself drifting into fogginess more often than I’d like – going through the motions & sleeping at the wheel so to speak.
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And while I’m realistic in knowing that not every day will be great & that mommyhood/life fatigue may take over sometimes, my intention is to put willful effort and energy into each and every day.

It’s been said that, “Conscious living allows us to become the composers and conductors of our lives.” We can’t control everything in our lives, but we do have the power to approach each day mindfully and with a positive outlook. My intention is to cultivate more of that in 2021!

At the start of every year, I always enjoy looking back at my highlights from the previous one. While there was a lot of staying cozy at home with my family, we managed to safely have a lot of fun out in the world too. Here are my 3 top highlights from 2020:

Watching my baby grow into a toddler

Being the mom to my little girl was undoubtedly the highlight of my year. At the start of the year, my baby was just 5 months old, so A LOT of growth and development happened in 2020. From learning to crawl and walk to becoming a champ at eating and talking a ton (she imitates me all day long and will say half a dozen new words within one conversation at the dinner table these days!), Camryn went from a colicky baby to a singing, dancing toddler with a whole lot of personality in 2020.

Road trips around the northeast

While I certainly did not check off everything from my list of 2020 travel aspirations – that list kind of makes me chuckle now knowing what last year turned out to be like! – we still managed to have some great family trips, including a few road trips around New England.

My favorite was our road trip to Maine for a bunch of days of exploring, hiking and relaxing. We also went to Rhode Island for a long weekend of outdoorsy, socially distanced activities.

We also were able to spend a couple of weeks throughout the summer at my family’s beach house in New Jersey. It’s always a relaxing place to go that gives me lots of nostalgia feels, but the escape was particularly welcomed during the pandemic. The first few times we visited in the spring and summer, we had been really just staying home for months, so it was a lovely change of scenery.

Our first big vacation as a family of 3

My 2020 travel highlight was definitely spending time in San Diego in the end of February. It was my first time back since moving from the west coast a few years ago, and we had the best time visiting our favorite spots, exploring some new places, and showing our baby a city that we love so much. Overall Camryn did awesome on the trip, which was really nice for our first big trip!

I’m grateful that we were able to even go on this trip, as it wound up being aptly timed right before the pandemic swept the U.S. (it actually started to hit as we were traveling).

Here’s to a 2021 filled with health, happiness & adventure (& a COVID-19 vaccine becoming widely available & enabling us to return to some normalcy!).

Tell me.. Have you set any 2021 goals, resolutions or intentions?