The Special Years

For parents the most important years are the ones that our children were born. These are the years that everything else is framed around.

In 1999, my older daughter was born. That's the year life as I knew it was changed forever, and for the better because I became a mother.

That New Year's Eve, when 1999 turned into 2000, it was the first one I stayed home with my husband and baby. I rang in the Millennium with a movie, take-out, a bottle of wine and pure bliss.

Remember the Millennium? So much anticipation was placed on that big year.

In 2002, my second daughter was born and our family was complete. I have little recollection of what happened after that as life became a whirlwind of combining parenthood, career, husband-wife time and that little thing called me time.

And somehow we landed at 2011.

Every year I promise to appreciate the now. I wonder how did we get to 2005, 2010, and wow, now it's 2011.

Most of us will break our New Year's resolutions before the first week of 2011 is over. So instead, take the time now to think of those special years that formed you, and made you the person you will always be first: a parent.