Some Thoughts On New Year's Resolutions

I think I've only ever kept one New Year's resolution in my entire life. It was about 10 years ago. I resolved to floss every day. And I've actually stuck with it. It was an easy one. And my dentist LOVES me. But since then, nothing else has stuck.

I have lots of resolutions this year. Doesn't everyone? That laundry list of things you'd like to improve about your habits, your lifestyle, your attitude, your diet or lack thereof, your motivation, your spirituality, your parenting, etc. etc. etc. The constant quest for self-improvement, life-improvement. I'm looking for my next resolution success story. I mean really - how long can I cling to this flossing thing?

My resolutions for 2012 (aka wish list for a better life) fit into many buckets:

Achievable

• Read every day



• Write this blog at least once a week



• Weigh myself once a week - just to know when I need to lay off the pasta and wine for a couple of weeks. OK - let's be honest - just pasta, not wine. OK, let's be honest. Not pasta either. It will have to be something else.



• Train for a half marathon. Ugh. My knees hurt just typing that.



• Play with Katie EVERY day (barring sickness or travel) - but really PLAY - even if it's just for 15 minutes. In a few years, "mommy, play with me" won't even be a phrase in her consciousness. I need to keep reminding myself of that.

Achievable But Doubtful

• Go to church every week (maybe once a month? once a quarter?). How about "attend church regularly"? Here's the problem with church - the Saturday masses are usually smack dab in the middle of when we're doing something; the Sunday masses are on Sunday - the ONE day a week, I don't have to get up and get dressed to be somewhere. (Note to self: potential topic for whole separate blog post - the problem about going to church)



• Keep my kitchen table clean. I don't mean clean as in wipe the crumbs and spills off. That I do. Most of the time. I mean clean as in free of clutter - newspapers, mail, notices from school, random Katie art projects, magazines, my keys, an original copy of the Declaration of Independence (hey - that pile of stuff has been at the end of the table for so long, who knows what's in there!) It is a constant battle and one I can't see myself winning this year but I'm putting it on the list.



• Get on a cleaning schedule. I hear this is something organized people do - specific days or weeks when they scrub the bathroom or wash the floors or do the laundry. As it stands, my kitchen floor gets washed if something spills on it or it's the week before Katie's birthday party or the week before Christmas (the only two times a year I "entertain"). This is not a good cleaning schedule. And given my need for a new car and my great desire to go to DisneyWorld this year, my occassional visit from the cleaning lady is out of the budget. This saddens me greatly.



• Stop using my credit card and pay off my debt. I hate budgeting almost as much as I hate scheduling!



• Plan menus every week and grocery shop accordingly. I said achievable but DOUBTFUL right?



• Do yoga weekly. This seems easy but isn't. When you have limited work-out time, it always seems wasteful to me to spend a precious hour of it posing like a tree or a dog or a sleeping child no matter how good it is for me. But I do feel so much better after. But when will I do the running and the weights and the abs and the core strengthening and the boot camp and the pilates and the .......................?

The Great Intangibles

• Be a better daughter/mother/friend



• Run toward the problem rather than away from it. And then FIX IT.



• Be more sympathetic.



• Stop being so judgemental.



• Be more grateful.



• Stop doubting myself.



• Stop apologizing.



• Truly understand it's OK not be liked by everyone.

I think that's more than enough for one year. Signing off - have to go floss.

For Amy

t was my New Year's resolution to start a blog. I don't know why I thought that would be a good resolution to make - probably something about giving myself a creative outlet. Sounds good right? Well, more on that later - like maybe 10 months from now when I get around to writing again.

The reason I am starting this today is because I wanted to write something about my best friend - Amy Gold - complete with pictures - and Facebook Notes wasn't going to work for me.

Today is Amy's birthday. We met each other roughly 33 years ago - in kindergarten. We may have looked something like this:

*Note: real pictures of us in the Cute Years are somewhere in my parents' house. Unfortunately, they live about 40 minutes away and frown on me popping over at 10pm to dig through closets so I can get this posted in time. Trust me. We were cute. Imagine one of these girls with little-girl glasses. That was Amy.

Amy moved about 30 miles away when we were 7. When you're 7, 30 miles might as well be 300 miles. But thanks to what I now realize must have been a tremendous effort from our parents who transported us for regular sleepovers and didn't mind the - does anyone have these anymore? - "long distance" phone charges, we stayed friends. We stayed friends long enough to think THIS was a good idea.

Yep. Matching bathing suits and bad ass sunglasses. These were the NOT cute years. And these bathing suits were purchased at Ames. I have no idea why I remember that classy detail.

I'm happy to report that our next badass sunglass picture looked like this. Marked improvement, no?


We decided to be roommates in college (aka the Zima years).



*Note actual bottles of Zima in this picture. (side note - Zima in a Poland Spring bottle fools your RA every time!)

Being college roommates was the best idea we ever had. So many nights now when I lay awake in bed waiting for sleep, I wish she was 10 feet away in her twin bed (always neatly made every morning, mine not so much) so we could talk about hair products or boyfriends or TV shows (you know - intellectual conversations your parents dream you're having at college) until we talked ourselves right to sleep. College was good.

Fast forward - I was her maid of honor. She was mine. I was/am her daughters' godmother. She is my daughter's godmother. I should have pictures of these major life events - and I do - somewhere. Wait - here's one!

Fast forward some more.

And here we are today (well, last month):


Some day when I'm not sleep-deprived and am not running up against a birthday deadline, I will write more about this amazing person I get to call my best friend. But for today, I just want to wish her a very happy birthday. And say thank you - for sticking with me through the cute years and the not so cute years and for being a shoulder, an ear and the other half of my brain.

Before I start quoting "wind beneath my wings", HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!