A New Year, a New Outlook.

Happy New Year, everyone.

I hope you all had an awesome holiday season. We did. It seems like the last two months have  gone by in a blur of activity. We’ve had two pajama days in the last month. You know days where we stay in our jammies all day, watching  movies, playing games and doing a lot of nothing important. Both were necessary, trust me.

I don’t usually make New Year's resolutions. I’ve always said that you should resolve to do something when you get the conviction to do so, not just at the beginning of the year. I mean how many resolutions burn out by the end of January?  It’s almost like a social wish list without any real commitment behind it... And, if they’d have asked me, I would have made the new year start in March with the spring. I’m not sure why we have a new beginning in the middle of winter. I mean it’s cold and kind of dreary outside. Maybe it has something to do with needing to make changes after indulging for two months...I don’t know... but I’ve kinda always scoffed at them. Until now.

I mean it’s the beginning of a brand new, shiny year. Beginnings are a good place to start, right? So...I made some resolutions this year.

Like many people around the world, I took a good look at my habits, my weight, etc and decided to make some changes. So I’ve made two major resolutions.

1.       I am making a commitment to get healthy. This would entail dropping about 15lbs. I’m fairly active, running around after my 2 yo does assure that sitting for any length of time is nearly impossible. But small things, like walking to the library instead of driving, getting up just a little earlier to walk the kids to school, dusting off my treadmill, will make a huge difference, I know. No diets, just smart eating and activity. My husband and I have a plan, a weekly goal and are determined that this year is the year to be healthy (He wants to lose 45lbs.)

2.       I want to be more in the here and now. I’m always so busy (7 kids, remember?) I have a constant to-do list in my head and I’m usually thinking of the next three or four things I need to do instead of just experiencing the moment I’m living.

I could say I want to organize closets, declutter, etc, but those are things that always need to be done and then redone.  I think I’ve organized my pantry 6 times last year... the kids don’t understand why the cereal goes on the second shelf and the peanut butter goes on the third shelf (or why I sigh when they complain they can’t  find the peanut butter). Let’s not talk about the inability to put blankets on the blanket shelf and towels on the shelf above it... It’s frustrating, but concentrating on them kind of goes against resolution #2.

There are a ton of things I want to do: Write, plant my own vegetables, grow an herb garden, paint, start my Christmas gifts earlier, but those aren’t really resolutions, you know? They’re on my want-to list, hopefully to be upgraded on to my to-do list.

So how about you? Do you have any resolutions?  What’s on your want-to list? 

Shawna Thomas writes fantasy when she's not living her dream of raising a large family with her wonderful husband. Her books are available at Carina Press.