i used to believe in new year's resolutions, keeping them, quitting them, and trying over and over again to start and finish them.
before i married an eyeore like nate.
he doesn't believe in resolutions, on january 1st or any other day. "its just one more thing you're going to quit" he says.
oh bother.
and he's kinda made me stop believing in them too.
he says, "if you want to change, change! don't make a list, and don't wait until this huge day with all this pressure to be different...or better....or worse...or whatever."
so a few days late, because of my baby boy's birthday (who isn't such a baby anymore, now that he's 9...."the same age as Anakin Skywalker in episode one"-what a momentous year for him) a few non-resolutions, just things about me that will change. things i love, and things i would love to love more.
hmmmm, where to start.
i think, for me, i'll need to stop sighing, and growling, and doing the big "mom" noises i do when i am irritated. my kids do them, and they sound awful. i set that example for them, so i need to undo it.
i need to forgive faster, and more often. and remember that other people deserve the same grace that my husband, heavenly father, parents and sisters, and children grant me every day.
i need to hug more. i don't hug. at all. only nate. i need to hug my kids more, because i was a kid who hated being hugged, but now i wish i would have gotten more of them. they need it, and some days, i need it too.
i need to use self control. around oreos, and diet coke, and things with frosting.
i need to unplug. unplug from the tv, unplug from work, and unplug from my constant dialog in my head. and start connecting in the moment.
i need to reach out to friends more. ones i've let slip through the cracks. i've celebrated my own weddings and babies and big days and moments, and now my friends are getting to do those things too, only i'm telling myself i'm too busy to pick up the phone. or a pen. they need to know that i'll cheer on their successes the way they did mine.
i need to have a friendship with my mom and dad. they don't need to parent me, and i need to learn how to listen.
one more, and then i'm done.
i need to spend more time listening to my heart, and what makes me happy. i'm driven by the elves of "time lost, wasted, things not done, people not happy, to-do lists looming" that chatter in my ear all day long. i need to do the things that make me happy, even if its not always convenient. i need to put myself on my "to-do" list, right at the top.
so there's a start.
i'll keep you posted.
for now, celebrate today, and every day, like its the first step of something great.
here's a secret:
it is!
