New Year's Intentions
I have just a few (informal) goals for the coming year. And the more I've thought about them, the more I've realized that nearly all of them come back to self-care... or even a reclaiming of self, if you will. After I had Lyla, I felt totally overwhelmed by all the things. All the mothering, all the wifing, all the working, all the homemaking. I felt like there was no space left for friendships, exercise, hobbies of any kind. They all just sounded like more things.
But we are a year and a half in to this whole parenthood thing, and I realize that I have given myself a pass for far too long. We have been in a really good groove for a long while now, and if I've learned anything in the past year, it's that our child is so, so easygoing. I have abstained from many things to my own detriment; she really rolls with just about everything. There IS space for me to reclaim a few things. And let's be very, very honest: we only have ONE child, with plans to have more. It is NOT going to get easier; more time is not magically going to appear (I mean, it will, eventually. The kids will get older and be able to verbally communicate and go to the bathroom by themselves and go to school like independent little humans.) But for right now, we are in the thick of raising littles. So it's time to make some space.
My goals are simple. Nothing dramatic here:
1. Exercise more
2. Read more
3. Invest in friendships
The end.
Thanks to our brand new YMCA, the whole exercise thing has been a breeze to implement. I'm a "put my money where my mouth is" kind of person. I HAVE TO have some skin in the game to maintain a good routine. I've always had the most success with consistency when I've either had a gym membership or been registered for a race (or both). The Y has been a godsend and their PIYO class hurts so good. The fact that they have an awesome indoor toddler pool is also a serious perk!
Reading... ahh, reading. Truthfully, part of the reason I have hardly read any good fiction books in the past year (I've squeezed in a handful of nonfiction books) is that I am one of those people that has a hard time doing anything else when I'm knee-deep in a good book. Nonfiction is not a problem; I can read a chapter and leave it sit for days or weeks at a time. But if I find a good novel, I want to spend every spare moment of my time with that book. I took a solid two weeks off from work for Christmas (eek! It was AWESOME.) and read my first novel in a long time (The Museum of Extraordinary Things). I'm not exaggerating when I say that I felt like I came up for air when I read that book. I NEED to be reading more. I love it too much to put it on the back burner. I'm not giving up nonfiction either. I'm late to the Shauna Niequist bandwagon, but I am loving her daily devotional Savor and I was so, so, SO excited to get Emily Henderson's Styled book for Christmas. (Ask Jake, she's totally my celebrity crush. I just think she's the coolest designer and working mama.)
Lastly (or most importantly), friendships. I need to know and be known. I don't know how I thought I could survive without friendships as a mom. I have not lived without them completely, obviously, but our social calendar definitely took a hit post-baby. Admittedly, we are the ones who let that happen. I'm going to say yes a whole lot more this year. We're off to a good start--managing a last minute happy hour in Portland with a dear friend who flew in from LA and hosting friends at our house this weekend for our 30th. If I flake out on this CALL ME OUT, friends. Please and thank you.
And if I get around to it, we might do some deep cleaning and reorganizing around the house, too... we'll see :).
But we are a year and a half in to this whole parenthood thing, and I realize that I have given myself a pass for far too long. We have been in a really good groove for a long while now, and if I've learned anything in the past year, it's that our child is so, so easygoing. I have abstained from many things to my own detriment; she really rolls with just about everything. There IS space for me to reclaim a few things. And let's be very, very honest: we only have ONE child, with plans to have more. It is NOT going to get easier; more time is not magically going to appear (I mean, it will, eventually. The kids will get older and be able to verbally communicate and go to the bathroom by themselves and go to school like independent little humans.) But for right now, we are in the thick of raising littles. So it's time to make some space.
My goals are simple. Nothing dramatic here:
1. Exercise more
2. Read more
3. Invest in friendships
The end.
Thanks to our brand new YMCA, the whole exercise thing has been a breeze to implement. I'm a "put my money where my mouth is" kind of person. I HAVE TO have some skin in the game to maintain a good routine. I've always had the most success with consistency when I've either had a gym membership or been registered for a race (or both). The Y has been a godsend and their PIYO class hurts so good. The fact that they have an awesome indoor toddler pool is also a serious perk!
Reading... ahh, reading. Truthfully, part of the reason I have hardly read any good fiction books in the past year (I've squeezed in a handful of nonfiction books) is that I am one of those people that has a hard time doing anything else when I'm knee-deep in a good book. Nonfiction is not a problem; I can read a chapter and leave it sit for days or weeks at a time. But if I find a good novel, I want to spend every spare moment of my time with that book. I took a solid two weeks off from work for Christmas (eek! It was AWESOME.) and read my first novel in a long time (The Museum of Extraordinary Things). I'm not exaggerating when I say that I felt like I came up for air when I read that book. I NEED to be reading more. I love it too much to put it on the back burner. I'm not giving up nonfiction either. I'm late to the Shauna Niequist bandwagon, but I am loving her daily devotional Savor and I was so, so, SO excited to get Emily Henderson's Styled book for Christmas. (Ask Jake, she's totally my celebrity crush. I just think she's the coolest designer and working mama.)
Lastly (or most importantly), friendships. I need to know and be known. I don't know how I thought I could survive without friendships as a mom. I have not lived without them completely, obviously, but our social calendar definitely took a hit post-baby. Admittedly, we are the ones who let that happen. I'm going to say yes a whole lot more this year. We're off to a good start--managing a last minute happy hour in Portland with a dear friend who flew in from LA and hosting friends at our house this weekend for our 30th. If I flake out on this CALL ME OUT, friends. Please and thank you.
And if I get around to it, we might do some deep cleaning and reorganizing around the house, too... we'll see :).
Comments
Post a Comment