Le Nouvel An

 

Well, here we are in 2012. 

Another year filled with resolutions and promises to do better and be better.

My Mom always told me to make resolutions I plan on keeping, otherwise it isn’t much worth it. She never kept her resolutions, but that’s because they were always something ridiculous like “Eat less chocolate.” Who was she kidding?

With her resolution proviso in mind, I only have two resolutions for 2012. They are the umbrellas under which most everything else falls.

In 2012, I resolve to:

1. Try and put myself first. I’ve a horrible knack for worrying about everyone else and not myself, so I’m going to try and put my heart and my health on the priority list. I have always wanted to be a runner. I have asked a few "runner friends" to help me get there. I hope to one day post about a marathon I’ve run.   

2. Stop trying to fix everyone. I need to remember that just because I’ve been through losing my mother and getting divorced, I cannot protect my friends and loved ones from going through the same things. I cannot stop people from feeling the pain I have gone through. Healing requires pain in the first place, and I need to be cognizant that I cannot stop people from feeling sad or scared: I can only support them when they do. I am a friend: Not a mechanic.

I wish I could say I will be 100% successful at achieving my two resolutions, but what’s most important is that I actually put the effort in. 

So many people resolve to hit the gym, eat better, or cut certain things out of their lives completely. There’s no stability in extreme changes.

If I learned anything from my mother, it was balance. And she didn’t even know she was teaching me. She made time for herself and time for her family, and no one ever felt slighted. She painted, sketched and wrote poems in the most beautiful calligraphy you can imagine. It was her “Judi” time, and she took it very seriously.

We should all carve out time for ourselves, to reset, refresh, and relax. If you’re going to make any resolutions to “be better”, start with being better to yourself. Trust me. It will be so worth it. 

This post would be longer, but I’ve scheduled in some “Amy” time for today, and I have to go out into the sun and walk my dog. And sing the Littlest Hobo theme song to her, because she seems to like it.