A Simple, Warm Welcome to a New Year

 

Beginnings matter.

2024 was, as I shared a couple of days ago, a most unexpected year, and Ryan and I felt a bit like we careened into its final days trying to land it without any guidance for such a skill, right up until the very last moment of the year. It mattered to us to begin 2025 in a purposeful way, setting aside the first day as an offering to the Lord – a Sabbath of sorts.

Our workdays extended into the evening on New Year’s Eve, and then we drove in the rain to Subway to pick up sandwiches for dinner. We changed into comfy clothes, crawled onto the couch, and kept working for a while, while a flocked winter tree glowed as best it could next to our TV. (The middle section of lights burned out, and I hadn’t gotten around to replacing them yet.) It may not have been the most festive New Year’s Eve celebration we’ve ever had, but our hearts were worn, and we welcomed the rest and reflection that came with quietness at home.

I tapped the closing words in my 2024 journal, read the last page in my year-long Bible study book, and drank coffee with just a splash of caramel added for fun. We did something new, since we were home alone together, and looked through every single scrapbook page from 2024. We found many adventures we’d forgotten (which is one of the reasons I love to scrapbook) and groaned through the reminders of some of the harder days. Oh, how I loved this little trip down memory lane!

The clock crept close to midnight, so we put on our silly paper glasses, poured the sparkling grape juice, and counted down to a new year. It was blissfully uneventful – yet fully documented – and within the hour, we had crawled into a warm bed for a rare full night of sleep.

We slept until our eyes popped open of their own accord – an unusual treat for us – and then we made breakfast burritos for our first meal of 2025. We sat together at the dining room table, which I decorated using inspiration from this post I found sometime last month.

We spent the morning in Bible study, new-year prep (work and personal), and watched Lexi sleep, worn out from chasing her new Christmas toy around the living room. We had hoped for a pretty day to enjoy a hike or a run outside, but Indiana had other plans, it seemed.

I spent a good chunk of the day cooking food and baking bread for the busy days to come – and catching up on household and work chores. This is the happiest way to spend the first day of the new year and filled my soul to overflowing in ways that only organizational nerds will understand.

We completed the obligatory first-day-of-the year workout, I read for a while, caught up some things in my day planner, and semi-watched enough tropical house hunting shows to qualify for an honorary real estate license in the Bahamas!

We ended the evening with our first attempt at making homemade tortillas. They were fun to try, and we’ll report back on the taste after we test them!

Beginnings matter. 

And though we have no control over what the year before us holds, we certainly did all we could to be intentional in how we began this crisp and curious new year. Conversations, quality time, work, rest…it was an offering of a first day, and we couldn’t have asked for anything better (except possibly the weather).

P.S. - Happy monthiversary, Ryan! 145 months with you is sweet!