I am a huge fan of beginning of the year resolutions. I love the thought of starting new and of making myself into a better person than I currently am. I love beginnings and writing lists. I love trying new things and thinking critically about my life. While I could spend my time working really hard toward one goal, I think I will instead make a comprehensive list, knowing I will most likely not accomplish all of them at 100%. I will instead focus on even small steps toward the following list.
This year, I will...
1. plant a garden. I hope to add more and more plants over the next few years, but this summer I would like enough fresh produce to create a fresh omelette, a homemade salsa, or a crisp, summer salad with Louis.
2. spend more time at the local library. Spending money on books is wasteful with such an amazing resource at my fingertips. I want to instill a love of reading in my son and reading has always been an escape for me. Both of these ideologies are reasons to find time to spend more time in the stacks.
3. buy local. While Amazon is convenient and a last minute gift buyers dream, I would like to do better at supporting our local establishments. There are great places downtown to find unique, quality gifts. I just need to make the time to shop this way.
4. focus my energy on cultivating relationships. I need alone time but when life gets tough, it's the people that step up that can save you from yourself. My family started with just my husband and me. That relationship is the foundation on which my family now stands, we must remember to take care of it. Before my husband and me though, there were the wonderful friendships that got me through college. My girlfriends were my world, and they deserve more of my current world. It won't ever be as much as it once was, but they need to be a priority even in a new form.
5. establish a method for organizing my pictures. I am terrible at baby books and picture books. I have tried and failed. I want to be one of those moms but it's just not going to happen. Once something becomes a "should," my guard goes up and I never get around to it again. Some months I take hundreds of pictures and others I'm lucky to get five, but no matter the quantity I want to make them easy to access.
6. blog more as a way of memory keeping. Just as I struggle with the baby books and the picture books, I have not been great at being a consistent writer here. While for many a blog is a way to make their lives public, I view this as a convenient way of remembering.
7. get up before Louis in the morning. I need to use Louis' sleeping time more to my advantage. He is no longer that infant that didn't move from his blanket while I ran laundry, flipped through a magazine, graded a stack of papers or retreated into a relaxing episode of some corny, cop show. After he goes to bed at night and before he gets up in the morning are my best bets at time alone. Whether it be 30 minutes on the elliptical, a couple chapters of a one of my current library books, writing one of these very posts, or selecting the best photos from the month, this time is valuable and should be cherished.
8. be more thoughtful, kind, gracious, patient, happy, pleasant...
Can I do it all? Most likely not. Can I try every, single day to be better? Absolutely.
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