The first day of a brand new year. I've never much enjoyed New Years or New Years Eve. See, I was the product of a divorced family and then I went to boarding school, so New Year's Eve always symbolized the end of Christmas vacation and my return whence I came. I would put a lot of effort into dressing up, drinking too much and waiting for some magical sign from god at the stroke of midnight that would invariably mean something great was going to happen that year. (I was under the misconception that someone else had to create "great" and I didn't have the power to do it myself.)
So then the let-down would set in and my first day of a new year would be spent hung over and disappointed. And then, shockingly, the year to follow would be quite the let-down, too. No wonder, actually.
Anyway, I've grown up some and have given myself more credit and I realize that I have the power to create those aforementioned great things, and doing "nothing" on New Years Eve doesn't mean I'm boring or destined to spend my life alone and disappointed.
So last night, I made some resolutions and then I went to bed at about 10:30. The boy and his girls woke me up at midnight to share some kisses and excitement, and then back to bed I went. (I'm going to skip over the part where I was aggravated by the DJ Hero blaring up the stairs at 1 AM and the fact that I had to get up for work at 5:30 AM and so I'm still not very well-rested and was actually kind of irritated all morning.)
And then I realized that this isn't just a new YEAR, this is a new DECADE. And as I thought back over the last decade (and where it began New Year's Eve 2000), I've come to the conclusion that THIS, this right here, is going to be my time. The last years were fraught with painful mistakes that lead to painful lessons that sometimes had to be repeated once or twice until they finally sunk in. That's been waning over the last year or two and I was settling into that place that everyone tells me comes when one enters her 30s... that place of just feeling more comfortable in your own skin.
That means, I'm ready to make some Resolutions and to stick with them. It's that time.
So here we go:
1. Renew blogging. (See? Here I am!) Writing has always been the place where I feel most at home and it's my time to process, reflect and learn. It's important to take that time and not simply iPhone it away.
2. Cook at least once/week. I'm blessed with a Love who loves to be in the kitchen and he spoils me. But I do really enjoy it and he deserves a reprieve. So, once a week I'll cook - and I'll share my recipes here!
3. Thursday nights are Laundry Nights. It's the one night where we usually don't have anything going on and it's also a good TV night, and then I won't have to worry about laundry during the weekend. "Laundry" will be defined as everything that needs to be washed and everything in our room put away and not draped all over the place.
4. My youngest stepdaughter struggles with reading. She doesn't enjoy it and so she doesn't do it. She has book reports due every month in school this year and the last three have been done at the last minute and riddled with tears, procrastination and just general discontent. That's not giving her the right message and I can change that. So I'll be doing her book reports with her. We will start the week she receives her book; read the book together; and then do the report together.
5. I will hand-write (and send!) thank you notes to my mom for the wonderful opportunities she share with my family. No more forgetting, or forgetting to send them, and then relying on email to say my thanks. She deserves better.
6. 5% of every paycheck into savings. No excuses, I'm just going to consider that money unavailable. Once an adequate "emergency fund" has been created, I'll begin contributing to my 401K again.
7. I will be *ahem* initiating more. Bad habit of letting him dictate when and I'm not enjoying that. I doubt he is, either.
8. The girls love "Girls Night" where we head out to dinner or something just the three of us. I love them too, as I walk away in awe of our relationship and who life-altering it is for all three of us. So we'll do them twice/month.
9. The requisite "weight loss" resolution: This one is pretty low pressure, though. Focus on 2 pounds of weight loss per week until my goals are reached. It won't take long and it's achievable.
10. Last but not least, I will update my status on the above here on my blog once/month! Accountability is always good!
So there we are! I'm in charge of the great!
-paige
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