Our 2021 family meeting
photo by Shandy Mikkelsen
New year? Yes, please.
Every year in December, Eric and I sit down together to talk about the past year — what went well and what didn’t — and the upcoming year — our ideas, our hopes, our dreams. It was Eric’s idea many, many years ago, and I have grown to love the intentionality!
From this meeting we both get action items or “homework” that we are in charge of completing. Sometimes they are fun, like “plan our anniversary trip” and sometimes they are less exciting, like “find a couples therapist and schedule our first appointment.” (That last one sounds scary, but it’s all good. Just another step in being intentional!)
Eric created a PDF outline/booklet to guide us, which is what we use every year, and you can purchase a copy here, if you’re interested.
No one knows what 2021 will look like (if I learned anything from 2020 it’s that we are not in control), but we still jotted down some goals for the year. Here’s a few of the things we discussed:
Financial goals:
Buy in to the Okoboji lake house
Buy in to Eric’s company
Make our last daycare payment EVER
Events:
Summer camp for both kids (I’ve got my fingers crossed!)
Big purchases:
Living room furniture (sectional, ottoman, chair)
Road bike for Eric
Home improvements:
Add trim in the basement
Paint all interior doors black
Update landscaping
Redo our deck
Travel plans:
Okoboji
South Dakota
15th anniversary trip
Personal goals:
Blog at least 36 times (last year I did 33)
Swim laps outside at least once a week in the summer
Spend more time and money on my style
Move my body more — walking, yoga, etc.
More adventure — hot air balloon ride, zip line, cliff jumping?!
Relationship goals:
Pray together before bed
Start couples/parenting therapy
Monthly date nights
Quarterly date days
Parenting goals:
Monthly one-on-one dates with the kids
Do you have family meetings every year? I can’t recommend it enough!