Reflections and revolutions

"What was the best bit about this year, girls?" I asked them at lunch today.

"Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuba!" shouted A, remembering our epic family holiday this year.

"What bit of Cuba did you like the best?" I continued.

"The cakes at breakfast," replied A.

"The cold swimming pool," chipped in P "Oh, and the ice cream!"

So my children's favourite memories of 2012 are of cakes and ice cream, they just happened to be on a tropical island. We got talking, reminiscing, and we all got feverishly excited recalling parts of that trip. The coco taxi's whizzing through the crumbling Havana streets, sneezing iguanas, swimming in waterfalls, buckets of hermit crabs, rowing boats at sunset and mojito's delicious and punchy - and do you remember that pelican Mummy, do you? One night the food was so bad at our hotel we skipped the dinner altogether and ate Pringles and drank rum, oh how we laughed remembering that moment. The kids obviously missed out on the rum part of the meal, but they do recall their parents giggling madly trying to catch the frogs in the room and talking to the night guards in practically fluent Spanish - we are talking a half a bottle of rum here.

I like New Year, in fact I love it. I love the feeling of thinking back on the old year with fondness, although 2012 had its fair share of tantrums and tears, and looking forward to the new. A whole 365 days stretching ahead of us, full of promise and excitement. A brand new start to try and right the wrongs, to add to the memories and widen the experiences.

"What are your new years resolutions, kids?" I queried once we had stopped giggling about Cuba.

"My revolution is to read more books!" said A.

"And my revolution is to play music!" added P.

And I have decided to be more jolly. Not so blue. Not so cross. A little less angry.

So the three of us are are going to cause a revolution in 2013, resolving to be jolly, book reading musicians. Look out world!

Happy New Year everyone.