New Year’s Resolutions

As with each new year, I have been reflecting recently on the things I need to do or to fix/change in my life in order to be a better, happier person. I’m happy in general. Very happy, actually. But there are always things we can all point to that we’d change about ourselves and each year we resolve to do just that. And, for the first two weeks of each year, our diet is better, our closets are cleaner, and we are much more likely to stay within the speed limit. Then, we go inevitably go back to our old, gluttonous ways and lay the groundwork for the next year’s resolutions.

I don’t really care much for resolutions. I don’t think you should decide to work on things one time a year. I think of it in the same way I do dieting – nothing will work unless or until it is a change in lifestyle. Quick fixes don’t solve the problem. So, that being said, I thought I’d go through my annual process of picking several things I will never change, and set myself up for failure by vowing to change them. There are also goals I am setting for myself that are not necessarily things that need changing, but thing that just need starting.

Here is my list for 2010:

1. I will make Meg’s scrapbook detailing the events and milestones in her first year of life. (Meg turned 2 in October)*

2. I will limit sweets to weekends, holidays, birthdays, other celebrations, times when I get shaky and need something sweet, times when I’m at a party and am drunk and have forgotten that I’ve vowed not to eat sweets, and other times when no one will find out that I've caved.*

3. I will do a better job of not cursing in front of my children. It's not good to curse as a general rule, but I really need to be cognizant of it particularly since my kids repeat everything they hear. But, it's hard. Damn hard.**

4. I will keep my car neat and tidy but not necessarily clean. It's so hard to find the time to have it cleaned or clean it myself, so saying I'll keep it clean is just an obvious lie. But I could do a much better job of keeping it from being uninhabitable. There is dust EVERYWHERE, toys, paper, wrappers, and any other kind of junk all over the floor, and God-knows-what smashed into the crevices of each car seat. It's foul. And, at all times it either smells like fast food or faster food. Yuck.*

5. I will do a better job of sending thank you notes. Ugh, why did I even write that? I am horrible at that. Don't people know that the best gift of all is being excused from sending thank you notes? Why don't people give me gifts and then say, no thank you note needed. Those of you reading this who give me gifts on occasion need to pay attention to that last sentence and perhaps work that into your own 2010 resolutions. Thanks.*

6. I will stop complaining so much. Yeah, I agree. Never going to happen.**

7. I will be more patient with my children. (I was laughing as I typed that last sentence.)**

8. I will be healthier. This means I'll eat better, exercise more, and focus on positive things instead of filling my mind with anger, blame, depressing thoughts and the crap that's on TV. I won't guarantee that everything I put into my body and mind will be healthy, but I'll do a better job of keeping myself healthy. The older I get, the more I realize that it's a wonder any of us ever make it. There is so much sadness out there. Diseases. Bad luck. Bad food. How much happier would we all be if we took ownership of our bodies and our surroundings?

9. I will not post serious things like that last resolution. People are expecting sarcasm and this just throws them off. **

10. I will not be so happy being frumpy and lazy. The first thing I do when I get home from work is slap my hair up into a rubber band, rip my bra off and change into my pajamas (or if I want to dress up, some sweats). My poor husband. I'm sure he'd appreciate seeing some trace of the woman he married. She is buried under about 20-25 pounds she's put on since their wedding, flannel pants, and a fairly repulsive old, pit-stained T-shirt. I'll show him that I care about his happiness by paying a little more attention to what he comes home to everyday.*

That seems like a pretty good list. I'm sure I'll come up with some new ones as I break these over the next few days. But this is at least a good starting point.

I wish you luck in keeping your resolutions and I hope 2010 brings you much happiness and contentment.

* Denotes items that I am unlikely to actually accomplish
** Denotes resolutions I have already broken