Resolutions: 2009

Jackie ♦ December 30, 2008 ♦ 3 Comments

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I haven’t always, but for the past few years, I’ve found it helpful to spend time taking stock. Last year I made two resolutions: eat healthier, and have more parties.

Eating Healthier

I have been working my way towards eating healthier ever since I was pregnant seven years ago. Back then, I didn’t really know how to cook, ate too much junk food, and practically lived on Mt. Dew. I taught myself how to cook (though I have a long way to go), have cut down on the junk food, and in 2008, I hit a huge milestone by giving up caffeinated soda. It’s been a little over three months since I’ve had any Mt. Dew (my weapon of choice), and I feel great, but the process started over the summer, and was just as difficult as I had feared. However, now I feel better, I know my teeth and bones are better off for it, and I am so happy that I finally succeeded. Both of my girls have recently talked about it too, and knowing that they see me trying to be healthier is such a great feeling too.

Having Parties

One of the reasons I was so happy to buy this house was the idea of hosting parties here. Our old house was just too tiny to fit many people in comfortably, but this house is well-suited, and we’ve had some lovely parties here. We had a great Halloween party for the girls’ friends, a nice birthday brunch for my friend Karen in the spring, hosted Christmas and had some really fun cookouts over the summer. The girls love it too, and often ask us when we are having people over again. The parties we have hosted here, or the parties we’ve gone to in friends’ houses, are some of the best memories I have of the past year.

Looking Forward

So I feel pretty good about my 2008 goals, which leads me to resolutions for 2009. I believe strongly in making a few specific, achievable goals with clear timelines. I also want to make resolutions, not a to-do list: I know that in 2009, I want to paint our upstairs bathroom and entry hallway, but that is not exactly going to change my life.

So how do I want to change my life? I think the biggest pattern in my life I’d like to change is how I’ve been spending my time, especially over the last half of the year.

On the work front, I’ve taken on some new responsibilities, and need to carve out more time to really address all my tasks and projects. On the personal front, I have several writing projects stalled, and house projects I’ve been putting off. I don’t see enough of my closest friends, and there are some old friends I’ve reconnected with recently and have been trying to make plans with for months. With my husband in law school, time has become a precious commodity, but also, there have been too many nights when I’ve flopped on the couch, turned on the television, or stared at my laptop screen for a few hours because I’m too weary to tackle anything else. Those couch hours don’t make me feel refreshed, and they’re mostly unproductive, and the next day, all my undone projects and obligations are still there. I’ve really been enjoying my new blogging energy, because I think I’ve been much more purposeful about my writing here, so I need to carry that sense of purpose into how I spend all my time.

In short, my new year’s resolution is to Spend more time with people and projects that are pleasant, productive and fulfilling.

How about you?