With Christmas just around the corner, the new year is also almost upon us. New Year's resolutions. Those 3 words can evoke a myriad of negative emotions: fear, doubt, angst, terror, defeat. In a perfect world they would rather inspire or challenge you to let go of a bad habit -- smoking, over eating, alcohol bingeing, etc. It might encourage you to develop patterns of preferred behavior -- exercise, healthful eating, spending more time with your family.
I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions in the traditional sense. Being a rule follower, I don't live my life in extremes. As far as lifestyles go, I am pretty balanced. Imagine my surprise when at my physician's office last week he suggested that to encourage better sleeping, I cut out my two cups of coffee per day, tweek my eating habits and add a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio exercise on the days I do not go to the gym. I looked at him like he had two heads. Aren't I already ahead of the curve? Work out 7 days a week--really? There have been several weeks where getting to the gym my usual 3 days a week is a stretch. Of course, I have my various work out DVD's that I could pop in front of the TV to exercise from home. Am I likely to do it? Not so much. Let's just say that if I were to work out even 5 or 6 days a week, give up all my caffeine and eat even more healthy than I already do, I am going to register for the Gateway Naturals Bodybuilders Competition. That kind of discipline had better have some pretty big perks. Seriously, he's nuts.
Having said that, there are areas of my life where I could use a resolution or two to improve upon things. Speaking more kindly to my husband and kids is a big one. Isn't it a shame that the people we love the most are often the ones who we can be the most short-tempered with? Mine stems from two sources: Fatigue and maybe a little too much face time. Please don't misunderstand me: I love being a stay at home mom. The last nine years have been a huge blessing and I've been there to see all their milestones and have shared memories with them. But having a child home with me full time over the last nine years has had it's challenges. I rarely get the opportunity to "miss" my kids, to appreciate a time apart. Regarding Tony, again, I love him dearly. But men and women don't always understand each other and we've had our share of disagreements and flat out wars over the years. A peaceful household is a definite resolution toward striving for--starting with ME.
Another big area that could use some tweeking is finances. Despite the recession, Tony has earned a few substantial raises and promotions in recent years. For that we are grateful. Years of annual family court modifications and appearances, years of child support payments, and just the cost of raising 4 kids, we are managing year by year. Deciding to be a "one income family" has had it's challenges and good financial stewardship is a must. My parents taught me well and fortunately, Tony and I are both financially responsible people. However, I could certainly be a bit more thrifty and responsible. As the sole bill payer of our family, it is up to me to see that we are wise with how the money is spent. In the last few years I've attempted to track our bills and income -- watching where some careless spending is occuring. Perhaps a personal goal for me is to track our expenses in 2010 more closely. Fortuantely, child support will likely end in the next twelve months -- the two sets of braces we are paying on currently will eventually be paid for -- no more preschool tuition after April. Many areas of financial freedom are forthcoming. I would love nothng more than for my husband to get the car of his dreams in the next 18 months. He's been driving an 11 yr old old (faithful) car and it's his turn to enjoy the fruits of his labor. That would make me really happy for him. Yes, financial stewardship is a goal for me -- one that will bring security for my family and help us sleep easier at night.
Personally, I like that the only New Years Resolutions I make is to not make any. That is the one I can keep!
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