The other day Owen was out back and just laughing it up. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I grabbed my camera and tried to catch him on film. He was feeling rather silly, about something only a six year old could think hysterical, and quickly began to make a sport out of the mini photo shoot. I got all kinds of faces and stages of his laugh, but this one really captured my heart. It’s a little blurry, which isn’t a surprise due to the jumping and head shaking he was challenging me with, but it really captured his laugh.

I’ve been doing some thinking this week on what types of goals I want to set for this year – I know it’s not that big of a surprise this time of year 😉 – but I was having a hard time thinking of something easy to hold on to for the year. I know many people pick a word that they want to live by for the year and I really liked this take on a “New Year’s Resolution”. I like the idea of giving yourself something to focus on, without putting resolutions out there that may just fall to the wayside.

I was thinking of what we know will happen this year. We know we’ll be getting a dog. We know Don will continue to work, and may have to travel. We know that the boys will finish this school year and move on to the next. We know that we’ll have birthdays. We know that we’ll have a busy first six months of this year. We know that we’ll have a family trip.

Then, when I was going thru Owen’s pictures, it struck me. Laugh. I often think of the song “I love to laugh” from Mary Poppins, being somebody who has a tendency to laugh, and I thought – why not! When you laugh you are happy. You are making the best of things. You are enjoying what you are doing. You are sharing a bit of your sparkle with those around you. So I’ll give it a try this year with this twist on a resolution. “Laugh” will be my word, to remind me to take a step back and enjoy the time that passes quicker each year. To remind me to make the best out of whatever happens, and to help make those around me happy.

I hope you all had a delightful Christmas, a happy New Year and wish you all the best for 2009!