Happy new year! I have to admit that my brain functions more in a school year cycle than a calendar year cycle, but the prospect of a new year is still one that's exciting to me. Every day that we get is another opportunity to do something new, change something we don't like, or make steps toward living the life we want to live. This seems to be something we're all keenly more aware of at the beginning of a new year.
My entire life, I have resisted the practice of making new year's resolutions. I've resisted it because of the principle of the thing; you need not wait until the new year to decide to change your life. However, this year I am going against my standard practice and have decided to make some resolutions. I really view them more as goals, actually, and they may not be completely concrete yet, but here we go.
1. Take the time to enjoy my family and my life.
It isn't that I am oblivious to how blessed I am and how amazing my family is. I'm not unappreciative (most of the time). It's the fact that my kids are getting to ages where we are all involved in so many activities, that we aren't taking the time to just enjoy each other and do something together that doesn't revolve around a club, a sport, or musical performance. We have a motorhome, and yet we have not taken it out once in 11 months. This is inexcusable, and something we are going to change this year!
2. Throw myself into my newly declared hobby.
My husband is an amazing man who would do anything for me and our family. His burning passion that feeds him is off-roading. I have struggled with this for...forever. I want desperately to support him in his loves, hobbies, and passions, and everything that feeds him emotionally. It is not something that I enjoy half as much as he does, and it is also a very expensive hobby. So, there is definitely a need for balance there for both of us. I am ashamed to admit that part of my resentment for his participation in this hobby is my own jealousy. I do not have anything in my life that I feel that passionate about; I have a few interests, but nothing that fuels me the way off-roading fuels my husband. That is 100% not his fault and it was unfair that it influences my view of his activities. Another part of my irritation about the off-roading was that there are a million things that we want to do to our house. Our house is great and everything works fine, but it is very outdated and hadn't been changed since it was built in 1987 until we moved in. We've gotten a few things done, but there is still a lot more that needs to be done. I also spend time coveting other people's cutely decorated homes on Pinterest and in person, and bemoan my boring little outdated house. The other day, I decided to move a piece of furniture and create a chalkboard wall in my house. My husband helped me a little, but mostly I did it myself. This was great because I did have to learn to do something new, and I got the gratification of completing a project. When we were at Home Depot getting the supplies, we also looked at other things, like kitchen countertops (my big ticket desire for the house). I'm incredibly fortunate in that my husband and I have very similar taste when it comes to home decorating, and he commented on that. It was like this huge revelation to me for some reason. I then asked him, "So, I can pretty much do what I want to the house?" to which he enthusiastically responded, although I realize this is largely because he's looking at getting out of doing a lot of the work. There are some things that I do not possess the skill set to complete on my own (like changing light fixtures), but a large portion of the things that I want to do are completely within my scope of ability. I really enjoy doing things to the house to make it our own, so I declared it my new hobby. I will enjoy the results of the work, and I'm hoping that it will help to give me something else to focus on and alleviate some of my jealousy and resentment. Just one more step in trying to become a better person!
That's about it for my resolutions. I'm constantly trying to get into better shape and eat better, and also be more fiscally responsible. These are not new year's resolutions for me, as they are things that I've been working on for a long time and will continue to work on. We've made large strides in the fiscal area, which is very nice. We are donating to a missionary once a month now, we have only one car payment left (which will be paid off in June), and are down to one credit card and my student loans. This is such huge progress for us, and our credit scores are finally improving! It's been a very long road, but we've learned a lot and I look now to start saving on top of paying things off.
I will definitely be starting off the year on the right foot; tomorrow I get my kids back (they spent their Christmas break with their grandparents in Mexico), and Saturday we will celebrate Christmas with them. I cannot wait to see them open their presents! I also have the benefit of an absolutely amazing Christmas gift from my husband: a four day Mexican cruise! Neither of us have been on a cruise before, and have been dying to go on one. I am so excited and cannot wait to spend a wonderful vacation alone with the love of my life. Life is good, God is good, and I stand astounded by His abounding blessings.
