This year all five of us were awake and bouncing around for the New Year. There was a fireworks display somewhere nearby during the last minute of the Old Year. As soon as we heard the booming outside, we all grabbed blankets and stood in our front yard to watch the distant display over the trees. Right at midnight, the finale finished up and we ran inside to see The Ball drop. Actually, by that point, the ball had already dropped, so we rewound the TV program (Yay for DVR's!) and watched it again. That's when we realized we weren't watching the New York celebration at all, but the Las Vegas celebration (better music thank Dick Clark) and they didn't even show The Ball dropping at all. EG was very disappointed because she has ALWAYS wanted to SEE The Ball, but now that she was finally able to stay up late enough, she didn't even get to see it. I had to laugh at that a little. I never knew she was really that concerned about it. My kids always manage to surprise me, every day, every minute.
I have come to terms with New Years' Resolutions, or really the LACK of resolutions. They don't work for me or anyone else (as research has shown again, and again.) I think the way I've been doing things for the last year or so is the way I should keep on doing them. Not that I don't want to make improvements in my life, but that I'm not going to try to make big, bold decisions starting on a specific day. I already know what I should be doing and what I need to stop doing. Making a decision to stop or start is no different than any other day in my life. Every day is a chance to do something right or wrong. Every moment we are given a choice. We can always choose the right or wrong thing. We can always change our paths. If I made poor choices all morning, it isn't too late to make a good choice for lunch. Just because I ate ice cream for dinner yesterday, doesn't mean I can't choose a healthier alternative today. And tomorrow. And every day after that. The year doesn't have to start with good choices and end with bad choices just to start the cycle all over again next year.
Taking one day at a time, I can see where I am and compare it to yesterday, or last week, or last year. I can assess the good and bad use that to make a more informed decision about what choices I should make for myself, my life, and my family.
Last year I weighed the same as I do now. It really sucks that I haven't lost weight, but thank goodness I haven't gained. Actually, over the past year, I HAVE gained, but I managed to lose that much, so I guess it is a net progress there. Over the last year, I have managed to reduce the amount of waste in my family. Financially, we spend less and make better use of what we have as a family. Environmentally, I have learned some great tips and tricks to reuse what I already have instead of throwing away what I don't want and re-purchasing what I think I need. Just in the last few weeks I have re purposed several t-shirts into a kitchen rug, left over yearn scraps into coasters, children's belts into bracelets, and I have several other projects in the works to get more use out of the things I have around the house. Around my house I have been tidying, cleaning, sorting, and organizing the things I have and the things that came with the house. Compared to just three months ago, my house has come a very long way. I have emptied numerous boxes and bins, sorted out cubbies and cabinets, and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I still have a long way to go, but I am proud of the progress we have made as a family.
Today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. That is good enough for me.
Deb "Doing Better" Lollar
No comments:
Post a Comment