Happy New Year!
I am so excited that we are now in the year 2010. I had some discussion with friends if we should call it twenty-ten or two thousand ten. It should be mildly interesting to see how the media and therefore fellow Americans refer to the year. Why am I excited about a new year? It is the hope of something new. It is the expectation of what is in store for us as a country as well as what is in store for my family.
One can fear the unknown. I could dwell on all the 2012 talk about global destruction. I could focus on the bad economy. I could worry about my family. Instead, I choose to be comforted by the fact that I cannot change any of those possibilities and/or events. I am only responsible for my family and myself. I can only live the best life that is possible for me.
I was asked by a reader what my family does to welcome in the New Year. Every year it is almost the same. New Year’s Eve we usually stay home. I do not worry about our driving on the roadways; however, on New Year’s Eve and Day, I am not confident in other people’s driving. There are too many people who get behind the wheel drunk.
We usually graze on appetizers New Year’s Eve. We visit with one another. We reflect on the last year. We relate our favorite and worst times on the year. We have fun with one another. Whoever wants to stays up to watch the ball drop and see the fireworks on television. Sometimes we shoot off fireworks ourselves.
On New Year’s Day we always eat black-eyed peas for luck. For the last three years we have eaten cabbage too. Eating cabbage is supposed to make you rich. The first year we ate cabbage we were rich in cabbage. We had an outstanding crop of cabbage, but little money. I joked with my family that apparently we needed to eat money to be rich financially. Usually we also eat tamales. We also have boiled shrimp, which is just something my side of the family always did.
As we eat together, we take turns guessing what will happen in the new year. Some of us announce our New Year’s Resolutions. My oldest son resolved to not make any resolutions. I, on the other hand, made several. They are not the typical “I will lose twenty-five pounds.” Even if I could stand to lose the weight, I focus more on things that will make me a better wife, mother, teacher, etc.
Two of my school-aged children were just diagnosed with dyslexia. I feel a little overwhelmed, but in the back of my mind I always suspected there was a problem. So this year I will be working hard to learn all I can about dyslexia so that I can help them. I have started by purchasing the book, The Gift of Dyslexia, by Ronald Davis. I have joined a yahoo group called Homeschooling Dyslexic Kids. I have used the internet to learn all that I can about it in a short time. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to implement a multi-sensory program that makes a difference in my children’s lives.
As a family, we have decided that 2010 is the year that we will celebrate the Biblical holidays. We are going to use Robin Sampson’s book, A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays, as our resource. We want to learn more about God by doing this. We want to gain more insight into what life was like for Jews in the Bible. We want to understand the Old Testament better. We are excited about doing this together as a family.
I also made a resolution concerning this blog. I want to expand the Fresh from the Farm Store. Right now, I only offer my book, Texas Homesteader Wheat-Free Cookbook. I want to offer my homemade bars of goat-milk soap to the public. It will take a little while to set-up, but I will be working on it in the near future.
Well, now you know how I celebrate the New Year. I have also shared my top three resolutions for the year 2010. I would welcome comments on any of my plans. Most importantly, I hope that you have a great, safe, and prosperous year. Happy New Year!
I don’t know how old your dyslexic children are. I collect links to free dyslexia help and those who home school dyslexic K-3 might like this one
http://www.freereading.net/index.php?title=Main_Page
other free dyslexia help links are at http://www.dyslexiaglasses.com/links
Happy New Year! I really enjoyed this post – I love reading about other people’s family traditions. This new year I stayed in with my best friend and we did a jigsaw together, and then a quiz… Probably not the most rockin’ option, but it worked for us!
Good luck for your dyslexia journey. I know it probably is a bit scary to get the diagnosis, but at least now you have confirmation of your suspicions. And you seem to be approaching it in a really positive, can-do way. The multi-sensory approach sounds great; I’m not sure if it’ll be any use to you, as you already seem to have done a lot of research, but there’s an article here about the different “types” of dyslexia, if you see what I mean:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-7-Causes-of-Reading-Difficulty-and-Dyslexia&id=3185748
John, Thank you so much for the links. I will spend some time tomorrow checking them out. Thanks again, Lara
Rachel, Thank you for the information. I will add it to my must read pile for this week. On Sunday, a friend told me that there are 161 plus different types of dyslexia. I don’t know if that is true, but in the book I read by Ronald Davis he says, “No dyslexic person is the same.” Thank you for your encouragement. Lara