2013: Gratitude and Love

I wasn't going to make any resolutions this year. But after talking with my brother Will, I've chaged my mind. Maybe he will make these resolutions with me.

My 2012 has been a search for familial and inner peace. It's been a quest for life's answers big and small: the best neighborhood, the right school, the right parenting tactic, the optimal life/work balance...

Screw that. Definitive answers on the best/optimal/wise of anything are proving elusive. And will they really make us happier? Who knows.

So with the new year, I'm going back to some basics: love and gratitude.

#1: Take 5 minutes every day to write down things I'm grateful for. 

This could be one specific thing and thoughts about that: such as sisters or sleep. Or stream of consicousness gratitude: "I'm thankful for flattering mirrors. I'm thankful for puddle boots. I'm thankful for bacon." 

If gratitude is a muscle, this is it's exercise. It won't be written for anyone else but myself. No one needs to read about how much I love it when other people use mouthwash. But maybe taking time to recognize these things could have a profound impact on my life's joy.

The tricky part will be doing it every day. But If I don't have 5 MINUTES to be grateful for what I have, then what is the point. Really. 

Plus I feel my "gratidude muslces" DO make me happier. So why not.

#2. Write down 1+ unique things every day that I love about your dad.

I've done this before when things were difficult between us and it helped a lot. Right now, things are very good. We don't have a lot of time for each other due to the (rather intense) maintenance of two toddlers (ahem), a household, jobs, et al - but we cherish one another. 

So why now?

Well, the relationship I have with your dad is my single most precious asset. Yup - my numero uno favorite thing in the whole gosh darn world. It seems like nurturing that relationship should be a constant goal with more long-term benefits than padding the bank account or choosing just the right elementary school.

Today, "I love that Jeremy is a diligent handwasher which keeps him and our family healthier."

Too bad Henry doesn't seem to have the hand washing gene as I think he has just given me another awesome cold. Note: I am NOT really thankful for running nose snot smeared all over my shirt. Nope, not at all.

And lastly:

#3: Seek to be mindful of ways to bring this gratitude and love into the rest of my day. 

That's it, pretty simple really. But with potty training (a boy!), starting kindergarten(!!), getting us all through 10-20 colds/viruses/stomach bugs and 1 potential house move, I think that should be enough.

xoxo and Happy New Year!
Mama