So 2015 is almost here…how did THAT happen? I don’t know about y’all, but this year absolutely flew by for me. Don’t get me wrong, even though I am super excited for 2015 to arrive, along with the boost of “anything is possible” energy that always sets in come January, 2014 was pretty awesome and I’m a little sad to see it go. After all, 2014 was (among other things):
1) the year I finally started to feel settled in our new home.
2) the year I fell in love with gardening.
3) the year we finished the fence (an epic journey that requires its own post).
4) the year I started this blog (!!!).
Still, a fresh start gets me every time. Raise your hand if you were the kid who LOVED shopping for school supplies. Raise your other hand if walking into an Office Max or Staples still makes your heart flutter just a bit. Now that both hands are in the air, wave ’em around like you just don’t care – you know you want to, people, admit it!
In all seriousness though, as most people do, I have spent the last few days reflecting on 2014 and the changes I want to make in the future. I hesitate to call them “New Years Resolutions,” because I feel like that’s pretty much assuring they will be abandoned at some point (history would agree). So instead I will simply call them “guideposts” – stuff I have mentally noted that I want to guide my life and actions in the future. Guidepost sounds so much less daunting than resolution, don’t y’all agree? So now, I invite you to relax, let me pull up a chair, as Circa 1932 proudly presents…my guideposts (bonus points if you caught that reference):
1) Less pressure, more presence:
This is really more of an overarching theme than anything else. After alot of reflection, I think many if not all of the frustrations and stress in my life come from putting too much pressure on myself and others. That’s not to say that 2015 will be the year of free passes or anything, but the older I get the more I realize that I have to be okay with imperfection. I cannot possibly be a perfect wife, homemaker, sister, blogger, daughter, pup-parent, and friend, ALL at once, ALL the time – and that’s okay. The Doctor cannot possibly be a perfect husband, physician, son, handyman, brother, pup-parent, and friend, ALL at once, ALL the time – and that’s okay, too! Trying to be Wonder Woman 24/7, 365 just stresses me out to the point where I shut down and stop being present in my own life. I get so overwhelmed that I just STOP – stop being there for my loved ones like I want to be, stop taking care of myself the way I deserve, stop laughing along with life…no bueno y’all.
I don’t know where I got the idea that we all have to be superheroes all the time. I think perhaps it has something to do with social media and the feeling that we have to keep up with the digital Jonses. But let’s be real – my life isn’t nearly as flawless as it would seem from my facebook profile, my tweets, or heck even this blog. It’s easy to have a beautifully clean mantle in a picture when you can just move all the laundry and shoes and general life “stuff” out of frame, but you can’t sanitize your LIFE like that, and pressuring yourself or others to do so is a surefire recipe for disappointment. So, this year, I am going to work on accepting the extra “stuff” – being content to be good at things in their own season and trying my best to be present in my own life, no matter how messy or uncomfortable it may be at any given moment. I’m kind of a perfectionist so this is going to be super hard – check in on me in a few weeks (and bring chocolate and wine just in case).
2) Get healthy:
In past years, this would have been “lose weight,” and that is indeed part of the goal. I have a bunch of extra baggage I have been carrying around, and my joints will be grateful if I lighten the load. But this isn’t about just the number on the scale or on the tag in my favorite dress – I want to be HEALTHIER. Eat better foods, meditate and pray more, laugh more, take better care of my skin and hair and nails. I deserve that – I owe that to myself. You only get one body so you better make is as awesome as it can be. Which leads me to my next guidepost…
3) Lose the Diet Coke:
I am pretty sure if I went to donate blood today, they would get a bag full of Diet Coke. I am hopelessly addicted to the stuff, and drink WAY more than I should. For the Doctor, it’s Dr. Pepper (fitting, eh?), and he is trying to cut back as well. There’s just no real reason to drink it – it’s expensive, it’s full of chemicals, it can promote osteoporosis by leeching calcium from our bones, etc. Unfortunately for me it is also delicious, and pretty much the only way I drink caffeine, but I am determined to try and get off the soft drink train in 2015.
4) Stay Organized:
Note I said “stay organized” rather than “get organized.” I am really good at coming up with all sorts of fun and pretty ways to get things in my life organized. The problem is, they rarely stay that way. Inevitably, life gets in the way and that drop zone bowl that was only going to hold my essentials (phone, wallet, keys) overflows with a hodgepodge of assorted (warning: technical term) crapola. This year, I am determined to be more focused in my efforts and prioritize function and user-friendliness (read: long term doability) over “pretty” in my organizational efforts. I’m not giving up my label-maker though – you’ll have to fight me for it, haha!
There are of course other ways I want to grow and change in 2015, but these are the main ones. I am also going to make each of these guideposts a tag here on the blog, so that if I find a method or a product that help me follow the guideposts, I can share it with all of you in an easy-to-find way. Hopefully there will be many many such posts! What are your guideposts for this year? Share them with me in the comments – I’d love to hear all about them!
Till next time,
Sarah