Baby Steps: Hopes, not resolutions, for 2015

The tree is put away, the stockings folded neatly in their container, and the gifts have all found their new homes. Christmas is behind us, and with it 2014.

I can't complain; 2014 was a good year for us. We got a beautiful new daughter, and we paid off our new living room furniture and a student loan. Everyone was relatively healthy all year. It was filled with good friends and wonderful family. Overall, it was a great year for the Pind house. Fingers crossed that 2015 is just as good.

This will be a big year for me. I turn the dreaded 30 this year, our baby turns 1, my big boy starts public school and turns 5, we are going to try to put our house on the market, and things I haven't yet thought about or foreseen are ahead.

I didn't make any resolutions this year. I usually don't, and if I do, I can't or don't keep them. For me, resolutions are really things you think you should do, but know you never really will. My resolutions are really just hopes. I hope my family can stay healthy, I hope we can continue to squeak by financially and maybe get a leg up, I hope we continue to grow closer to each other and enjoy each other's company and I hope we continue to make lasting memories for our children. In my opinion, that is really all that matters.

It doesn't matter if I run a 5K, lose 20 pounds or get a promotion. It does matter that we as a family are happy and healthy. I'm sure 2015 will have its downs, but I am hoping it will have many, many more ups. I choose to make 2015 a memorable year filled with love and happiness, and I hope that you do, too.

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Kristen Pind, a native of small-town Gower, Mo., came to Southeast Missouri State University with big dreams of being the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer. She never thought that in her 20s, she'd be married with two kids and living in Cape Girardeau. Keep up with Kristen's adventures as a young mom who's still trying to figure out how her own life fits together. Turns out, she's living a dream she never knew she had, and loving every minute of it. Kristen invites moms of all types to find her "Baby Steps" page on Facebook.