There’s something magical about New Year’s Day.

Well—there isn’t really, but it feels that way. I have a penchant for getting excited about anniversaries and milestones. But to me they’re never about celebrating what’s been accomplished or completed. For me, the feeling is wrapped up in the romanticized idea of a clean slate.

I know it isn’t really a clean slate: the bills will be waiting to be paid as usual, the baby will cry in the middle of the night, and the car will still be making that funny noise. The world will keep turning and all of my problems will still be my problems and nothing will truly reset the way I like to fantasize it will.

But I truly believe that mindset is important, and on New Year’s Day, my mind is at ease. Each year I wake up with a fresh outlook, ready to begin another lap around the sun, and this year I wanted to do something nice with my little family to start the year off right. So after some breakfast and playtime, we jumped in the car and headed out on a little mini road trip to explore the Connecticut River Valley for the day. It ended up being a beautiful day, and the sky must have changed about a hundred times on our little journey. There’s nothing quite like those winter sunrises that seem to last the whole day through.

Here are some pictures from our day, and here’s to hoping everyone had as relaxing and enjoyable a start to the year as we did.

Cheers to a happy, healthy 2019!

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