Happy New Year!
I know there's a whole backlash against the New Year's Resolution thing. The super cool intellectual set think they're bourgeois and that we should all just make lifestyle changes as we need them throughout the year.
Yeah sure, I get all that, but I also relish a new start and the hopeful, pregnant potential of starting a new year off with a plan for personal improvement. And frankly, I need the kick in the pants that a national holiday with Hallmark cards and dorky traditions provides. Even if I ditch them all by March, who cares. I'll take a little self-loathing then for a few months of hope now. That's just the kind of optimist I am.
To that end, here are my resolutions for 2008.
- Get out more with Huck. I can be a bit of a homebody--I love my home--and I don't take him on outings as much as I should. Part of it comes from the fact that I am slooooow to get started in the morning. I'm also a Nap Nazi--for him, not me. But especially as he gets older I know that getting out and doing stuff with him is really the best thing for his development and even for his sleep. He needs more stimulation than endless days of playing farm and working puzzles can provide. Check out Travels with Children to see where the spark of this resolution came from. Linda has tons of great ideas for places to take the kids and tips for how to do it successfully. And she is fearless--4 kids...all under 7...museums. Need I say more?
- Take better care of myself. Personal appearance, health, hygiene & exercise. Notice this is a much more nebulous, open-ended inclusion of exercise than last year's yoga twice a week resolution--because after all, I like a good resolution but I hate feeling pressured. And yes, hygiene does need to be included. I'm not proud to say it but my problem has not been trying to find the time to take a shower since I had a baby, it's been trying to find the desire to.
- Get out more with my husband. Hmm, never thought about it before but this might be somewhat linked to the hygiene thing. Huge admission time here. Huck will be 2 next month and we've had a babysitter come over at night so we could go out...twice. There's a 15 year old girl that I love who lives next door! She took a full babysitting course in Chicago including infant/child CPR, and her Mom is an RN. What is wrong with me? It's not fear. It's pure laziness. I really need to set up a regular thing.
- Buy less. Make more. I really enjoyed my crafty spurt this year. It was larger than normal thanks to a steady stream of internet inspiration from SouleMama, The Angry Chicken and The Rowdy Pea. I want to make myself some placemats and a table runner, some pajama pants (as gifts, too), floor cushions, a memory game for Huck and a set of natural wood (as in from tree limbs) building blocks. The handmade Christmas gift thing went so well for me this year I'm going to try and continue it for gifts throughout the year. I already have ideas for birthdays through May.
I think I'll stop there.
May I stay the course.
