Resolutions

I am not a fan of New Years resolutions - not sure exactly why.  Maybe because so many people use it as a way to get skinny (i.e. "I am going to eat healthy this year") or make themselves feel better.  Plus I am not very creative and anything I think of, I usually break within the first month or so and then it just makes me feel bad.

And this year wasn't any different.  I didn't even think about making a resolution on New Years.  I was asleep by 11 PM and was happy about it.  Plus I have enough to think about - three kids ages 5 and under, not to mention holding up the house (no offense to Ted but as a matter of necessity the vast number of household duties fall on me - of course I am not taking away from the part he does - he helps 100x more than other husbands I know) and working part-time.  I rarely get a moment to myself before 8 PM and then I want to talk to my husband . . . before he goes to bed at 8:30.

But then all these people started asking me "what is your New Year's resolution?"  I heard the gammit (how do you spell that?)  - no fast food, no chocolate, no more gossiping, no more Facebook (didn't understand that one), and many others.  So I started thinking.   If I made one, what would it be?  Of course, nothing I could resolve to do (or not to do) would really make a difference in the world.  It wouldn't take back the earthquake in Haiti, or the horrible things happening in Darfur, or give homes to all the kids in orphanages around the world, or feed the starving, just to name a few, but maybe my resolution could impact my immediate world - my family and friends.

So I decided to go against my instincts and make a resolution, albeit about 20 days late.  My resolution?  Consistency.  To be consistent in all that I do - in the small day to day things like taking care of my family (and disciplining the kids), and also in the bigger things - like in loving my kids and Ted (even when I don't feel like it and when I think they don't deserve it), like spending more time with family including cousins for the kids, and in generally putting others before myself.  This is really a challenge to myself, and one that I will surely fail in every day.

So maybe it isn't so much of a resolution but really just a goal - something to strive for on a daily basis.  Maybe what we should make on New Years is not resolutions, but ideals or goals.  And maybe with more people striving toward ideals, the world might just be a better place.

PS.  Re-reading this I realized it is kinda deep and sappy.  Sorry about that!  I am really tired (sick kids = little sleep) and Ted is out of town which always puts me in a funk.