New year, new passions.

Geesh. How has it been three months since I last posted? Though life is filled with noteworthy events, I find it hard to blog about the day-in day-out things that happen. Because the end of a year always tends to make me a bit more contemplative than usual, I figured I should share some sort of meaningful update...here goes!

So, I'm starting a Zumba class at our church next week (along with my lovely friend, Courtney Fair). If you would have told me this last year at this time, I probably would have told you that you had me confused with someone else, someone who was in much better shape, and much more self-confident. I've always been conscious of working out and trying to be healthy, but haven't always done that greatest job. But this blog post isn't about starting a Zumba class per say, but about following my passions.

You see, I absolutely LOVE having the opportunity and blessing of being a stay-at-home mom. I don't necessarily love the monotony that a lot of days bring (especially the long winter ones) or some of the frustrations that come with being at home with your child all of the time, but I do love being a mom, and I guess you could say I'm passionate about motherhood. However, it began to occur to me that though I love my son and I think I'm a pretty good mom and wife most of the time, I had begun to lose myself--lose who I was/am as a person. The thought first surfaced when I was complaining to Troy that he could go out and do fun things much more easily than I could. Being the wonderful husband he is, he told me he didn't mind if I left the house to do something fun. When I couldn't even think of what I would do with a free evening by myself, I knew I had a problem.

Being a mom can be so all-encompassing that you lose a part of yourself. I know it's necessary to sacrifice for my family, but not to the extent that I don't have any hobbies aside from cooking, cleaning, and wiping poopy butts. So enter this crazy idea that came into my head: I should start a Zumba class at our church. I had been to a lot of classes over the past couple of years, and had always loved it. I also grew up taking dance classes and my mom was a dance teacher. At first it was a silly "maybe in another life" sort of idea, but as the weeks and months went by, I couldn't shake it. Honestly, I've had very few true passions in life, but since having Ian I've become pretty passionate about health and nutrition. I really felt like the Lord could use these passions in a way that could build a sense of community at our church and help get people excited about health and fitness.

So, here I am, about ready to launch this dream. At times I'm super excited and confident. At other times I'm a little nervous that no one will actually show up or that people won't like what we've been working so hard to prepare for the past couple of months. Either way, I feel a new sense of empowerment for trying something that I never thought I would. Something inside of me has come alive, and I really think it makes me a better mom and wife. So here's to a new year of figuring out and following your passions!