Happy New Year

I know its January 18th, not technically the New Year anymore.  I know I missed all opportunity to comment on Christmas.  Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day and I'm not going to comment on that either, except to share my nearly 6-year-old's take on the day:  "This is the most not fun holiday ever."  To be fair, she was sick, so we decided to stay at home rather than embark on some family outing. 

This blog is not about holidays though; I need to reconnect with my mission here and nothing is more applicable to "wasting time" than the concept of New Year's Resolutions.  What I really need are some new New Year's Resolutions rather than continually resurrecting the previous year's resolutions from their early demises somewhere in the middle of March. 

Let's just get them out of the way:  Eat Right, Exercise, Lose x number of pounds, do better at keeping in touch with friends, be more organized, practice piano. Nice to see you again resolutions--looking forward to hanging with you for a few months, and then we'll catch up again next year.

"New" New Year's Resolution #1: Be more optimistic.

Now my next two "new" resolutions are inspired by a moment I had shortly before Christmas.  You know how the holidays can make you feel, nostalgic, emotional, thoughtful about the fleeting days of childhood etc?  Well, I had just such a profound moment that brought me to tears inspired by the simple act of cleaning behind the microwave.

Go ahead, laugh, there is not some poignant next part of the story that will make you go "aww".  No, it just occurred to me that it had been almost exactly one year ago that I'd last tackled that particular task, and then with it came all thoughts of everything else I had not accomplished in a year, and the fact that my children were now a year older and NOTHING HAD CHANGED.

Oh, I'm sure things have changed, but going through the motions of all the holiday traditions, I couldn't think of any.  I guess many people actually have a fear of change, but I'm not one of those people. I fear staying the same.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, and a lot of the traditions that I've enjoyed since my childhood, like making and decorating sugar cookies.  I love sharing that with my kids.  But I realized I need to do something to keep the years from blending into one.

So "new" resolution #2: find a NEW tradition for next Christmas. 

I don't know what it will be yet.  Travel? Some kind of act of charity or giving back? Expanding the celebration beyond the same circles of friends and family?  A whole new menu of holiday baking?  I don't know, but I have about 10 months now to figure it out.

"New" Resolution #3: Find more babysitters.  All that nostalgia about how the children are growing up so fast made me realize that before we know it, they will be busy with their own lives and then my husband and I will be looking at each other saying, "Remember me?  The real me, not just the Mom/Dad version I've been showcasing these past 10 years?" 

My last "new" resolution:  I will blog more consistantly, even it if means I've not edited my writing repeatedly in an effort to make it perfect.  For me, trying to be perfect is just about the biggest waste of time ever.