Every January, I feel an urgent pull to reset. Not in a “new year, new me” way, but in a gentler way. I want my family – my two teens, my preteen, and me – to slow down, focus on what matters, reassess values, and also remember where we are.
With my son setting his eyes on going off to college in the fall, and two girls who are no longer into playgrounds, I’m looking to find adventures locally, because sometimes, in the middle of school schedules, errands, and surviving the week, we forget we live in a pretty incredible place. Sharing time with my kids’ social agenda, I’m fitting in as much local adventure as I can this year!
Chattanooga has beautiful rivers and bridges, quiet trails, familiar parks, and moments that can easily slip by if we don’t stop long enough to notice them. This year, I’m trying to mark the new year with small, meaningful traditions that my kids can grow up remembering.
A first outing of the year: nothing fancy; just outside.
Whatever is closest to you might be the best start. We have some great trails and walking paths in all neighborhoods around Chattanooga! We live in North Georgia and went just a few miles to our nature walk in Ringgold.
There’s something grounding about starting the year outdoors and reminding ourselves that this place is part of our everyday life, not just something we appreciate when company visits.
Talking about hopes, not resolutions.
I’ve learned that resolutions don’t really land with kids and honestly, I like more of a broad vision focus, so I brought all our craft supplies to make vision boards and conversation to our kitchen table, guiding with:
- What we hope for this year.
- What we want more of.
- What felt good last year and what we want to carry forward.
This turned into drawing, thinking bigger, seeing what each other wanted to restart. There was no pressure, just space to reflect together! If you want to take the mess of crafting and brainstorming outside of your home, go to the Chattanooga library for this activity.
The same photo, every year.
We do this at Thanksgiving on my parents’ front porch steps. But if I could go back to the days when my kids were little, I’d start a new year picture in the same place every year. Chattanooga is a beautiful background for a yearly photo!
Letting January be slow.
After the rush of the holidays, January feels like a deep breath. I’m learning that we don’t need to fill every weekend out of town to make it meaningful. My kids are at the age they can appreciate reading in a coffee shop, so I’m taking them to some of my favorite spots to slow down. Mean Mug and Sleepyhead Coffee are my favorites downtown. Choose one closest to you and make it a tradition to go for coffee and a slow start to your weekend!
A new year reminder.
Here’s to a year of kids who don’t always want to talk, but do eventually. Of walks that turn into side-by-side listening, and moments where we realize they’re growing up right in front of us even still in the older years.
