{For the month of December a fellow blogger, Melanie, and I are leading  #reverb11 – an online initiative that prompts people to reflect on the past year and look towards the new one.}

December 29. Wish: If you could make one wish (other than wish for more wishes!), what would it be and why?

Honestly, I’d wish for a heaping pile of money. Not very original, right? I just long for a time when I can be as generous as I would like to be. It’s not so much about wanting material things (my Pintrest boards aside – ahem), it’s more about wanting to contribute more to society and worthy causes. Know what I mean?

However, in an effort to be more original, here’s my actual answer…I would wish to go back in time. There are several dates/times I would pick to be sure. One of them would be a Christmas from my youth. Probably somewhere in my early teens. You know, back when it was all still so magical and stress-free. I would make sure my parents knew how grateful I was, I would help my mom in the kitchen more, I would watch the football game with my dad, I would take more time to listen to my grandmother (heck, I’d probably even go to church with her), I’d take my little brother sledding instead of burying my nose in a book as I was so apt to do, I’d give my sister a really thoughtful gift that would let her know that even thought we fought, I loved the hell out of her. I would just try to be in the moment a bit more. That’s what I would wish for.

You?

{For the month of December a fellow blogger, Melanie, and I are leading  #reverb11 – an online initiative that prompts people to reflect on the past year and look towards the new one.}

December 28. Hope: What are you most looking forward to about 2012?

Hands down, the birth of my little brother’s son. This will be Logan and his wife, Nicki’s, first child. This will also be my 11th niece/nephew. Crazy, huh?

When Logan called to tell me that Nicki was pregnant I was initially shocked and then just so, so, so excited for them. I love being an aunt and I love seeing my siblings as parents. The single most defining moment in my relationship with my sister, the moment that started us down the path of a wonderful friendship that had eluded us for years, was the birth of her son. I was beyond flabbergasted when she asked me to attend the birth and it was an event I’ll never forget. I was there the day her world changed forever and it blew me away. And seeing the positive changes in her as a parent has made my relationship with her richer. I know it will be the same for my relationship with Logan. I’m just so excited to see him as a dad.

Now, it does freak me out that my little brother, a person I remember holding at an hour old, is about to become a dad. WHAT?! And I’ve already warned his wife that Logan sees animals and children as put on this planet for his own amusement. Seriously, he gets an immense amount of joy out of harassing kids and animals. Not in a mean way, of course. More in a, “This is the pecking order of life, now dance for me, monkey” kind of way. That kid’s gonna have a thick skin, I’ll tell you what!

I’m going to head out to visit the little dude in late March, early April and I can’t wait!

What are you looking forward to for 2012?