2014, but let's remember the best of 2013

So, it is New Year's Day. As I type this, my kitchen is cleaned. A new skill I learned because the baby is bathed in the sink, and you never know when a blow out diaper is going to require a quick bath to remedy the mess. But, as usual, the rest of my home is a disaster that inspires my mother to down some tylenol and begin cleaning like our lives depend upon it. And, as usual, rather that use the last of my energy cleaning, I have decided to do something I WANT to do, rather than something I SHOULD do. I did lots of 'should' things today, including folding three loads of laundry and putting them away, cooking and cleaning the kitchen, and, well, that's it. For those who know me well, you know these were huge accomplishments and demonstrative of enormous personal growth. So, I am making good on my promise to myself and I am trying to blog more regularly than the once or twice a year that I have previously done.
Being New Year's Day, I would like to reflect on the past year. It was a tough year. My bathroom and basement were flooded by a neighbor's handyman. My beloved dog became very sick and made a rapid decline into death, that devastated me. My second beloved dog, Brutus, has become more and more ill himself. I went through a ridiculous battle with my condo association because they do not know how to properly interpret our bylaws and choose to change the rules on a whim. Through all this I was pregnant. Very, Very pregnant. Mine was a difficult pregnancy in some ways and pure joy in others. But I will touch on that another time. Then, there was her birth, which was - weird. Wonderful! but weird. Then, I lost my grandfather. The man for whom I am named. Which has still not quite sunk in. I miss him very much. I remember him fondly.
It is the first day of a new year. A day full of memories and a day full of promise. A new year. A new start. My resolutions: to continue to improve my health for me, for my husband, for my daughter; to be the best mother I can possibly be; to be the best wife possible; to be more 'housewifey' and clean more; to write more often; to pursue, with the hunger for it that I once possessed, my career, including launching my businesses. There. My resolutions for the world, or my three followers, to see.
2013 was a really hard year. In the middle of many tragedies was nestled the birth of my daughter. The most beautiful and miraculous gift of my life. And it is that promise, the promise of her that I will focus on as I start this new year. She is my everything. She is my miracle. She is my breath and my inspiration for hope. My inspiration to make 2014 a great year.
Happy New Year to all! May we all enjoy a beautiful year, a year full of prosperity, success, love and hope.