I don’t believe in traditional New Year’s Resolutions. I’m lousy at keeping them and they make me focus on what is wrong with life rather than what is right. And after decades of experimenting with resolutions I’ve come to one conclusion: they are just an excuse to ignore my bad habits throughout the rest of the year.
So…what kinds of Resolutions are WORTH making and have a chance to make it (12) months?
Here’s my list of Mommy New Year’s Resolutions
1. Love my kids more than I love my stuff.
- My 3-year old daughter ruins stuff. She is eyes-on-all-the-time and I just can’t watch her when nursing baby. As a result, we have her autograph on our furniture in Sharpie, painted hand-prints on my bedroom wall, dozens of destroyed clothes, and writing on her baby sister’s hat (that’s just the short-list.) But all that stuff is just stuff. And I resolve to make sure my kids know they are more important to me than any store-bought treasures I have, no matter how expensive.
2. Run a Harmonious Household
- As a mom, I am the gatekeeper for my household. I schedule our time, our food, and set the tone for how this family operates. A stressed mom makes for stressed kids, so I am going to evaluate all of the things that demand our time and just say no to some things. My calendar will have X’s on random Saturdays so that when someone calls and asks if we are busy I will be able to say “Sorry, we already have something on the calendar for that day.” It might be that we will end up hanging out in our PJ’s until noon or going on an impromptu sledding trip. Those are the things I remember from childhood. I bet my kids will, too.
3. Learn Something New
- I admire my mother. She taught herself how to do drywall at age 50. She is also learning to be quite the photographer and can do almost anything she puts her mind to. I also like to learn new things and I think it is because of her. I want to pass that gift on the my children: Learning is for life and it is fun. I am going to try something new this year (a triathlon!), and I’m going to let my kids see the real me along the way. They will see me taking swimming lessons and asking for help…both things that don’t come easily to this type A perfectionist!
