Resolutions?

I was thinking about priorities when I saw Beth’s post on Everybody Needs a little Romance 

I don’t make resolutions. I don't think there is anything wrong with them, but they do tend to be hard to keep. I think if you’re gonna do something, don’t resolve to do it. Just do it.  Yeah, I know the new year is a new start but so is each and every day.

Last year, after the birth of the baby who does not sleep, my husband and I had to reassess our priorities. Obviously, the baby took up a lot of my time. There were things I just wasn’t getting done that I wanted to get done.  This required a hard look at obligations.

First we had to separate the things I wanted to do from the things I had to do. I have to get the kids to school each day on time, fed and dressed. I want to get them to school after I’m dressed and made up, having worked for a least an hour and gotten them a hot, nutritious breakfast.  Yeah, so not happening. Not when I only get 5 or 6 hours of sleep.

My husband took over the finances. Yeah, that was hard but do you know what? I could almost feel the pressure ease off my shoulders. I don’t even look over his shoulder.

I stopped volunteering at the school. That was hard because I enjoyed it but it just didn’t make the top ten list this school year.

I also had to put me higher on the priority list. I am my own worst enemy. I have this idea that I can do everything.  I can’t. But trying has negatively effected my health and as my husband tells me, without my health I can’t do anything so taking a few moments for me isn’t selfish. I’m still getting used to that one.

Writing. Yeah, this is my stress relief and an added stress. Writing takes time. Time for me is more precious than money, but making more money doing something I love sure would take some of the financial stress away. So writing has stayed high on the priority list...it fluctuates between four and five. 

This year, if I had to make a resolution, it would be to resolve to remember that I don’t have time for everything I want to do, and what I get done that day, is what I needed to get done.  No beating myself up for not getting the best dinner on the table or for not finding time to clean out the pantry... again, or prune the roses.

My resolve, not for the new year but for always, is to live the day. Really live it. Enjoy what I’m doing, while I’m doing it instead of thinking of all those things I am not doing. To love with my entire heart and not hold back whether out of fear or for any other reason.

Have you made any recent changes or resolutions?