Resolve for a Better Year

Christmas is over, along with all of the hustle, bustle, and drama of another year passed. The New Year is finally here, and with it brings an entirely new challenge, New Year's Resolutions. As women, we may have one set of resolutions for ourselves, to make you a better person which will most likely include more exercise, more patience, and more organization skills. We will also have another set for ourselves as wives, and yet another for ourselves as mothers. The first feeling that embraces me as I make my own list of resolutions is panic and then confusion. Why do we as humans wait until every January 1st to want to change the things we don't like about ourselves? I have to believe that this is part of the reason for the panic and anxiety that comes with them. I also believe that sometimes people may put off any sort of self improvement until the New Year, when it is something that could be changed right then and there. Maybe our culture has defined us in such a way that we feel as though the only time we can change is with the New Year. Whatever the reason that we as a society wait to change for the New Year, now is the time for a societal change, so let's embrace it and actually change for the better. 

From what I know, people generally keep their resolutions to themselves and as my husband likes to reason, it is so the people around you are not pressuring you to keep the resolution. For example, a resolution to quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey would be difficult for a daily smoker. If the person were to make it known that he or she quit smoking, if they happen to slip up others would then hold that against them. I have to disagree with him and others who think this way. I believe that others could actually help with the resolution by keeping your mind off of cigarettes by keeping you busy other ways. I guess when it comes to New Years Resolutions, it truly is to each his own. The only way that anyone will be able to actually abide by the resolutions is your own way. If that means that you go and shout for the roof tops the things you want to change most, then by all means, take out a billboard, but if you need to fix yourself by yourself, then you should by all means to into your cave so that there can be improvement.

Are resolutions really as simple as an overnight change? When you are trying to change your core being, may it be attitude, issues that you have held on to since childhood, or even curbing your anger, do you expect this to change drastically between the time you go to bed on the 31st and when you wake up on the 1st? Being the realist that I am, I have to say that the change is not that simple, especially if these are behaviors that you have lived with all of your life. I think the first step to making any resolution work is that it will take consistency and hard work. What if one of your resolutions is to be more consistent? Well then I guess you are going to have your work cut out for you, as you are working on your resolution from day one. In order to be successful in any goal, you have to be consistent in the change that you are making. I'm going to be honest as it comes, I have a huge problem being consistent in life, so I am one of those people who are going to be working from day one. It is definetly going to be hard work, with many hurdles to bear, but as women and mothers we are accustomed to the hurdles of life. I know that I am going to have to find ways to be more patient, which will help me develop my ability to be consistent, as I have to be patient to be able to complete tasks which require consistency.

I hope I'm not going I'm circles, I'm honestly planning my resolutions as I write. There are few things as a mother I would like to change, but they stem from patience and consistency. Once these core issues are conquered then the doors for personal perfection are wide open. Aside from my own personal growth this year, what will be my 32nd year on this Earth, I am going to be working on the growth of my family and my home. I have allowed my home to become an overloaded storage unit, from all of the treasures that I have been fortunate enough to accumulate over the past year since I have began dumpster diving on a daily basis. Literally from my front porch to my shed in the furthest corner of my backyard there are stacks, piles, and rows of boxes and items that I have rescued from the landfill. This includes the inside of my house. The living room, my sons room, and my kitchen are really the only rooms in my house are the only places with real elbow room. 

For about a week now I have been searching Pintrest, my favorite go to for any ideas, suggestions, or just visual enlightenment for ways to get better organized. I have seen so many awesome ideas on how to organize every room in the house, but I have such a difficult time throwing thins away, how am I going to minimalist the things that need to go? My husband a.k.a. My swift kick in the butt when I need it. I actually said something this evening and it made me think for a split second that I could be on my way to being a hoarder. I quickly fought off that notion, because I do not think that a person with four kids can hoard food and other household items, just be more prepared for anything that could happen. I can only give away so much so I have to figure a way that I am able to reach more people in need. I cannot help anyone if I am unorganized, so first things first. The resolutions have to be conquered.

No change comes overnight, especially in adults. We have lived our entire lives in a way that we have become not only accustomed to but also have grown into a certain ritual, even in the way we react to various situations that arise spontaneously. It may not even be possible to change mannerisms in a years time, but in my book, as long as the work to change is consistent and genuine,there is never a time frame to completion. Change is constant in the way of daily growth and education therefore it should not easily be given up on. The new year brings much more stress than providing a wealthy Christmas for the kiddos, but you are in control of your own destiny, you are the captain of your own ship. I have searched and searched for ways to take control of not only my destiny but my household and my family so without further excuses, the buck stops here. I WILL be in control, organized, positive, and calm when working on myself and know that I am always going to be a work in progress.

With the new year brings new ideals, mannerisms, really a complete overhaul,of the person that I have grown to be in my 32 years on this Earth. I have decided that the first step in this overhaul is my home. I am a firm believer in the ideal that your happiness rests in your home. If your home is in chaos, your life will no doubt be in chaos as well. As you can probably imagine with my hobbies of dumpster diving and couponing my house easily becomes overrun with my finds. This turns any available area in my house into a catch all. I have even caught myself sounding like a legitimate hoarder, trying to save everything and finding a use for anything. At times I feel as though I have lost control of my collecting usable items,which is beginning to rub off on my children, who are just blatant slobs. Every chore is a fight that I do not have the strength or energy to fight with them. Why do they like to live in the filth? As much as me and my hubby run around the house cleaning up behind them they should see that the house should stay a certain way, it is simple to pick up your blanket off of the couch and put it away. Yet they act like I am asking them to come out dumpster diving with me so they can jump in the trash cans. Most days they cannot even find shoes to wear to school. Yet they own atleast five pairs each.

I have to be the one to take control back of not only my home, but also my family. It has been so long since I have been able to claim control that I almost don't know what it feels like anymore. Life has gotten difficult over the years, and with each year it seems it bring new problems and challenges for both me and my family, many of echo only carry over from one year to the next, never actually getting solved or even addressed. This year, things are going to be different. I am going to be a better woman, mother, and wife.