As I was putting away the remains of Christmas decorations, I noticed something shoved in the back of the garage closet. I tugged on it, only to discover my 2020 Vision Board. I looked at the board and had to chuckle. The magazine cutouts representing my hopes for 2020 were hanging by a thread, very much like my dreams. From small goals like losing five pounds to big goals like remodeling our house and growing my business, they all became laughable in retrospect. I guess there is truth to the saying “We make plans and God laughs”. My first instinct was to shove the board right back into the closet, but then I thought better of it. I decided to take a look at it again, reevaluate and reassess. As I studied the board in more detail, I was surprised to find out that not the whole year was a bust and that I accomplished some of my goals, or at least, I made some progress.  

Goal #1 Grow my faith 
It would be impossible not to get closer to God during this past year. I felt my dependence on Him strengthening as I was learning to trust Him fully no matter what the circumstances. I stayed connected to my church and continued to volunteer. I dove into The One Year Bible and made my best effort to spend some quiet time with God in the mornings. Was I consistent with my daily readings? No. I’m embarrassed to say there were mornings when I hit the snooze button instead of reaching for my daily reading or when I chose to turn on social media instead of reading God’s word. But I made a progress and for that I’m grateful.  

Goal#2 Improve my relationship with my kids and husband 
This one proved to be one of the most challenging as the stay-at-home order hit. Being with someone 24/7 is not a walk in the park as most of you will probably agree. But I didn’t just fold when things got hard. When my son and I started butting heads, I made an effort to clear the air and to let him know I still love him no matter what bad decision he’s made. I apologized when my impatient nature got the best of me and I raised my voice. The greatest benefit of the stay-at-home order has been not rushing from one sports/music/art activity to another. Having all this time at home forced us to work with what we have. We dusted off some old puzzles and spent more time than ever playing board and card games, working on art projects, talking, and going for bike rides and adventure walks. As for my relationship with my hubby, I actually believe we are stronger together now than we’ve ever been before. We had to get more creative to make date nights happen since getting a sitter and going out was out of the question. I realized how much I need my husband to survive the tough times, how much better we are when we work together. And let’s face it, I needed him to give me a break after having the kids all day.

Goal #3 Make upgrades to our home
The plan was to put in new floors, paint the whole house and remodel our master bath. Well, we knocked one out of three out of the ballpark when we put in new floors so I say, that is a success. I am still trying to forget how stressful it was living in a construction zone while homeschooling but a little short-term pain for the long-term gain was worth it.

Goals #4 Improve our finances 
With all the uncertainties, we were not sure if my husband would get laid off so we tightened our belts and sold one of our cars, eliminating one car payment and insurance cost. We also revisited and amended our Trust and Living Will, updated our Power of Attorneys, and talked to our children’s guardians to make sure they are still on board if something were to happen to us. There’s nothing like a worldwide pandemic to scare the guardians off. Knowing that they are still willing to accept that responsibility gives us a little peace of mind in these uncertain times.

Goal #5 Traveling.
OK, so we didn’t get to visit the Scandinavian countries we were hoping for this year, but we had a wonderful trip to Park City, Utah and we threw in an RV trip to Mammoth Lakes. That should count for something, right?

Yes, there were other goals, many of which I didn’t reach, like the one about losing five pounds. Who was I kidding? Like many others, I also fell victim to the infamous Covid-10 pounds. But looking at the big picture, I’d say I need to cut myself some slack here and celebrate even the few small victories like walking more frequently and taking my supplements.

Will I be doing one of these vision boards again this year? You bet ya!!! I believe that having a vision of what I’d like to achieve propels me in the right direction on the days I feel stuck. Dreams have no boundaries or deadline as Mel Robbins says. So, I’ll just keep on dreaming….  

Thank you for reading! What are some of your life dreams and what helps you work towards them?