Well friends, 2011 has come and gone. With the new year comes a time of reflection and direction. The past 12 months just came and went so quickly. I must say, however, I am not sad to see her go. A lot happened to my wife and I this year.  I started a new job (technically I started it in November 2010), got the wifey pregnant, she got her degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, we sold our house in Orange County, moved to Rockland County, I completely changed my diet and exercise regimen (more on that in future posts), and most importantly grew back my winter beard.

It seems we were not the only ones with a lot going on in 2011.  We saw close friends and family graduate from college, get married, get divorced, get pregnant, have a baby, move to the city, move across the country, move out of the country. This comes as no surprise of course, but nonetheless, something worthy of pointing out. I guess we are all finally growing up. It’s bittersweet and something you have to get used to as you grow older (and apart). It can be very inspiring to see everyone grow and change but all too often this comes at the expense of the time we get to spend with them.

We also lost a few people this year, a few to cancer and one to suicide.  Time is precious. We can never get back those lost seconds and minutes.  How we spend our time is something we should not take lightly, and is a direct reflection of what we value in our lives.  We assign, re-assign, reinforce those values every second.  The warped version of this line of thinking is the phase “Time Is Money”.  This just goes to show how much value we put into money.  I am not trying to say that money is evil, and that having a lot of money makes you bad person, but that having money is not our end goal.  How much money we make, how big our house is, how many cars/computers/clothes does not define us.  To me, life comes down to how we choose to spend our limited time, and the experiences we have and share with the ones around us.  Unfortunately, material obsession is seen as a short circuit to happiness.  How much we own shows and proves our worth.  We are all guilty of this to some extent, but we must ask ourselves, do the ends justify the means?  Is it worth it.

The funny thing about time is the phenomenon where life is experienced at the speed of light, while in hindsight appears to be in slow motion.   Deadlines always seem to pop up too soon, the seasons fly by… it’s winter already?  I just got used to fall!  What’s strange  is when you take a look back, the math seems to get all fuzzy.  The dates just don’t add up.  For Kristi and I, living in Warwick seems like the ancient past. We’ve been back in Nyack forever right? Yet, we just sold the house in August! How can that be? It’s been less than 6 months?  Another obvious example is the pregnancy. Our baby is due any day (it’s coming down to the wire here on the Bouzakis farm, we are getting close here folks). These 9 months have gone by more like 9 weeks, yet when I think of the time when Kristi and I found out we were going to have a child together it seems like ages ago.

I wrote in my first post, “It’s A Girl”, that new years resolutions don’t really mean that much to me anymore.  They seem so self obsessed.  I am having a baby dag nabit, who cares what I accomplish.   We gotta get this baby walking, laughing, talking, sleeping, etc … STAT!  It’s daunting to think that Kristi and I will be responsible for another human life.  I can barely take care of myself!  So although I have no specific 2012 resolutions, I need to keep things in perspective.  In addition to our new roles as parents, it’s important that Kristi and I continue to be individuals, and at the same time continue to be a couple.  That means, as it always does, it comes down to our actions.  We can blame other people and objects for what happens to us, but unfortunately most of these are out of our control.

So this year, I plan on doing my best to spend my time wisely.  A lot of that time will be spent with my daughter.  Watching her grow, learning how to be father.  This means more time with  friends and family.  More time meeting people with similar interests.  More time being social.   Less time will be wasted on things that do not make me grow, or keep me stale.   Less petty gossip on how other’s choose to live their lives.  Less time worrying about other people’s judgement.  Less time worrying about things that we can not change.

In 2012, I want to spend my time creating, loving, evolving, and playing.  It really translates into being in the moment, honoring and respecting my time.  The year will go by quickly, and before I know it I will be writing a Happy New Year 2013 post, but I also know that a lot can happen in year.  Yes, I understand we all have to work but maybe it’s also time to view our job situations too and how we choose to experience it.

So here is to a happy healthy and well spent 2012!