Had a great moment with the family tonight. As the night was winding down and it was almost time for the kids to go to bed, I gathered the family to form a circle on the living room floor. We turned off the lights and brought in a candle to represent 2013. We all took turns saying what we were thankful for in 2013. We passed around a cup of decaf green tea to sip and give to the person on the left while wishing them a Happy New Year. There was enough tea for about 3 rounds of this. We blew out the 2013 candle and grabbed a new candle that will represent 2014 and lit it. We all took turns telling what we plan on doing better in 2014. The consensus was to find little ways to make other peoples' quality of life better. I love the little impromptu events like this that we share together as a family. We will keep this 2014 candle lit for all of our family time together at home for the year and then retire it next year at this time. I hope the kids continue this candle/tea ceremony tradition (we started tonight) with their families someday.
