Monday, January 1, 2018

New Year 2018! (I've got a new attitude)



I can't help but chuckle a little when I see that I traditionally make a New Year's Day post and then disappear off the face of the blogging world.  I have no real blog followers, but I still feel the need to write and express myself in some way.  So doing it here seems logical and natural.  I'm going into this year with a different attitude towards resolutions.  First off, let me set the tone a bit...
Last night we were all set up, decorated, food cooked, showered and ready for our annual NYE party, but quite unexpectedly ice occurred and we had to cancel.  As we live on top of a curvy mountain road, it would have been completely irresponsible to encourage the drive for a night of partying. So, for the first time in my 22 year marriage, we celebrated at home alone with our son (that was a treat) and truth be told, I didn't really "ring" in the new year.  I fell asleep on the couch before 10:30 and then moved myself right on to bed.  The beauty of this situation is I didn't wake up to a messy house and tons of dishes to wash!  My mom used to say that whatever you did on New Year's Day you'd be doing all year, so she made a point of not doing serious chores like laundry, etc. on that day.  I'm thinking I'm setting myself up for a pretty great year in that regard.

Resolutions-what are they exactly and why do we constantly see the need to make ourselves "better" or try to become something we're not? I'm starting to feel that when we constantly focus on what's wrong with us, we set ourselves up to fail anyway.  So this year, I'm thinking, "I'm nice, I'm a happy person, I'm a good friend and I like myself".  That's refreshing.  I'm also thinking, "I eat really well most of the time" is eliminating entire food groups to lose unwanted pounds really healthy and a way to keep weight off?  No, no it's not and I'm sick to death of thinking about those damn extra pounds. In the way of exercise goals, I'm thinking, "I like to walk, do yoga, and dance." Let's do a bit more of that and see what happens to my mind, maybe even my body, and then perhaps I'll care even less about the extra pounds because I will feel healthy.  I love to read, I have a great book my son gifted me for Christmas, so I'm going to keep on reading!  I love to make stuff, any kind of stuff, and thanks to my ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap, I'm involved with a creative outlet. I'll keep doing that and maybe even some other cool things will grow from that.  Have fun with it, don't force, let it flow.

I love the idea of a word for the year, so I think, quite spontaneously I've just stumbled upon mine. GROW. I'm a sprout, I'm going to spend my winter nurturing. Come spring I'll reach upwards to the sun, let the March winds blow, feel the April showers on my face, and by May I'll be ready to BLOOM!

I love where this is going and if anyone happens to read this, yay! If I happen to come back to share a little before January 2019, yay!  If not, that's okay...I'll be doing what I'm doing and treating myself with a little more understanding and kindness.


New Year's blessings to you and yours!