I expect that 2012 will be a big year for us — at the very least, it’s the only full calendar year that we’ll be living abroad, which makes it pretty special.  We’re already over 1/3 of the way through our Austrian adventure, so this is going to be a big year for travel — we have four international trips tentatively planned, as well as about as many domestic trips (inside of Austria), and also one or two trips home to the US.  I’m really hoping that it works out that we’ll be able to play host to a good number of friends and family who want to come and visit, too.  (I can’t wait!)  I also really want to keep working on my German:  it would be a shame to move home after two years here and not feel like I’d at least learned enough to make myself understood.

On a more personal level, I want to focus on being the best mom I can be to my boys.  Which means, ironically, prioritizing taking care of myself and getting my own needs met — it’s like the oxygen mask on the airplane:  I have to help myself before I can help anyone else.  Another major goal of mine is to stop trying to justify (either in my own head, or to others) why I need the things I need.  I don’t have to have a reason, just the fact that I need something, and know that I need it, is enough.

It’s trite and boring, I know, but I do want to work on getting back to being fit, eating in a healthy way and rearranging my schedule so I can sleep more.  (I suspect that all of these things will also support my “being the best mom I can be” goal — a rested, fit and well-fed mom is happy mom, and as the saying goes, “If mom isn’t happy, nobody’s happy”.)

It’s also really important to me to keep doing what I’m doing in terms of recording this experience.  Blogging every day and taking pictures every day, though mentally (and sometimes physically) exhausting, and often daunting, provides me not only with a wonderful record of our adventure, but also with an important outlet for “grown up” conversation (even if the conversation is sometimes a little one-sided).  In fact, if everything works out the way that I’m hoping, 2012 may even include the opportunity for me to formalize my writing/blogging/travelogue a little more.  Stay tuned:  it’s going to be a great year.