The Bees’ RV: A Vision for 2020

See that wrinkled nose? When I'm smiling hard, my nose tends to do that. I was outside, in the snow, on a mountain,
with all of my kids and Chuck. I could NOT have been happier in this moment of time.

2020. I love the way it sounds; the repetition of the twenties just rolls off the tongue. I like the way it looks; the alternating twos and zeroes has a tidy appearance.

Our Utah Kids

2020 is going to be a big year for me. Maybe not a year of big changes, but I will celebrate my sixtieth birthday toward the end of the year. I think it's kind of cool that I was born in 1960, and will turn 60 in 2020. I like all of those even numbers.

Just a small representation of my side of the family; we are missing so many who live in Virginia.

2020 will be about PRIORITIES. For a few years, I've chosen a word for the year. As of yesterday, I only had vague thoughts about my word, but after hearing from two of my kids who had chosen their word, and their wanting to know what my word was, I decided to consider my choice thoughtfully.

My handsome and me.

2020 will be filled with our family and friends. Relationships and connection are so important to me. Face-to-face time, and phone calls, and emails, and texts are ways to connect, and I hope I do a good job of telling people I love how important they are to me. I want my husband and our kids to know they are my number one priority because my family is everything to me.

I've met so many creative people out here in Illinois. This particular group is an amazing group of poets and authors.

My circle of friends has grown since moving to Illinois. I want to deepen the relationships I have with my new friends, and stay connected with my faraway friends in Utah, Virginia, and various places around the world.

2020 will be about spiritual growth. This last year I feel like I lost my way for awhile. I want to experience reverence and spirituality. I want to honor God with my life, and with service to others.

They call me Grandma Poo.

2020 will be full of photographs and memories. I want to pursue my photography and my writing with more enthusiasm.

In November, I hiked in knee-deep snow in search of a Christmas tree while we were in Utah. I cannot wait to hike again!

2020 will be an active year for me. So much of 2019 was spent nursing my bum knees, and then rehabilitating the new knees after double knee replacement. I want to get back to my yoga practice, and walking outdoors. Hiking in Utah is something I want to do the rest of my life.

In the kitchen with my loves. Again, the wrinkled nose is the tip-off; I'm super happy.

2020 will be full of laughter because it will be full of my favorite people who make me laugh. I was going through some of Chuck's photos recently, and noticed he had not bothered to edit some of the photos of me. They may not be as flattering when I am laughing, but they remind me of happy moments I love to relive.

Part of our Illinois clan.

2020 will be full of adventurous eating. Our kids are all pretty adventurous when it comes to food. I want to try new restaurants and new recipes, and get better at making soups and nutritious dishes. I'm a pretty darn good baker, but I need to expand my culinary talents with veggies and meats!

If you were to look at my phone usage for last year, you would assume my sole priority was Facebook. While I comforted myself with thinking Facebook is a good way to make connections with others; the truth of the matter is, I spent hours and hours, going down one rabbit hole, then another, and before I'd know it, my day was nearly done, and I had not accomplished much of anything.

Grandson CJ with his awesome Dad, Chuck's middle son Chris.

The first thing I did this morning, after checking the weather, was delete my Facebook app from my phone. I will still use my computer to look at Facebook, but I want to be intentional about it, wishing friends happy birthday, checking on friends who are grieving or battling illnesses, and reaching out to faraway relatives.

My daughter-in-law with her babies, our grandbabies.

It's only 8:35, but I have not spent my two waking hours on social media. What I have done is meditate, take a bath, pick up my groceries and put them away, and I am roasting some vegetables while I WRITE!!!