Ok, I have been thinking a lot about resolutions and the ones everyone always makes. Lose weight, stop smoking, exercise, blah, blah, blah. I don't want to make resolutions I know I won't keep. So here is my list of things that I am NOT going to do instead of things I say I will do and won't. Hence, non-resolutions. All the experts say to use positive language in your resolutions, but I am going to break that rule here today.
- I am NOT going to feel bad for enjoying food. Yes, I will still watch my weight and eat healthy as much as I can, but little pleasures are good for everybody. And, as my former Weight Watchers Leader told me, I can enjoy foods I like and still get to a healthy weight.
- I am NOT going to feel like a bad mom for making decisions I think are best for my kids. Or even making decisions I regret later. My kids are not going to come to me in 30 years and say, "My life is in ruins because you didn't breastfeed me until I was a year old, made me eat my veggies, didn't bathe me everyday, and didn't give me a set bedtime."
- I am NOT going to feel bad for having a less than hospital clean house. I have 2 little kids and if I followed them around cleaning, I would never get anything else done. It is ok if the floor is dirty, the dishes aren't always done before I go to bed and the laundry sits in baskets for a few days. As one of my KLASS kiddos so eloquently put it, "My daddy said God made dirt so dirt don't hurt."
- I am NOT going to feel bad for taking time out for myself. If I don't, I may go crazy and go out with my pants on backwards or two different shoes on.
- I am NOT going to be upset if things don't go as planned. Life happens right? So why not just go with the flow. Human beings adapt well and it's good for us to have surprises in life. Who cares if the surprise is Ben fingerpainting with his poop or Marc suddenly rolling into a dog drool spot?
I think I did ok with most of them. I have certainly been more accepting of life's surprises and my house is only clean for about 5 minutes before company shows up. I still have to work on taking time out for myself, but I think every mom struggles with that to a certain extent. And if you're a mom and you have that part figured out, will you please let the rest of us know how to do it?
What kinds of resolutions or non-resolutions do you want to make? I firmly believe that when I wrote these two years ago, I had no idea if I would be able to do any of them. I also know that when I wrote these, I was a tired mama with a 2 year old and a 6 month old and I knew there was no way I could realistically do any more than this. In all honesty, don't make resolutions you know you won't keep or make the same ones you made last year. Try something new, if you want to do resolutions. It may lead you to a place you never expected. And those adventures can be some of the best.