It's That Time Again...

     Expectations. January 1, is always a day filled with so much promise and so many expectations that we impose upon ourselves. I've never had just one New Year's resolution. Why? Because there are always so many things I want to change about myself. Each year they are usually the same resolutions, and I usually fail miserably. The list usually goes something like this...be more patient with the kids, get organized, stop biting my fingernails, exercise, drink more water, remember to take my vitamins, wash my makeup off before bed, cook healthier meals, lose weight, write more, read more, stop worrying so much, live in the moment, do more spontaneous activities as a family, on and on and on.
     Last night I told my husband that even though it wasn't yet midnight, I had pretty much already stopped biting nine of my nails. There is always that one sacrificial nail for times of stress. Then once they grow out, it looks ridiculous to have nine nails and one nub, so I have to put a Band-Aid on the one bitten to the quick and act like I have an unhealing papercut for two months until that tenth one grows out. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous, but stopping nail biting is harder than most people think. Most times you don't even realize you are doing it. And those darn things are always with you. It would be like a smoker trying to stop smoking with five cigarettes constantly dangling from each wrist.
     Drinking water sounds like an easy one, but I honestly do not enjoy drinking water...at all. On an empty stomach it often even makes me nauseous. So drinking 64 ounces of water every day not only completely grosses me out, but guarantees a lot of time will be spent in the bathroom. The one thing I can drink water with is...chocolate. Are you seeing a problem here?
     The cooking healthy thing will probably be the easiest. We already eat pretty healthy meals. The problem seems to exist during baseball season, which for us is spring and fall. So maybe the resolution should be to FREEZE more healthy meals. I mean, did they have to put Legends Smokehouse so incredibly close to the exit of the sports complex?
     Be more patient with the kids....hmmmm. I remember a mother said one time that when she gets upset with her children and wants to yell, she just starts singing really loud. Odd, but it might work. I do like to sing. I love karaoke. This could work. When everyone gets mad we could just break out in song like the Partridge Family. 
     And you would think taking vitamins would be easy as pie, but I forget those darn things every single night. I will put them by my toothbrush. Problem solved. And washing my makeup off before bed shouldn't be a big deal, but when I am all nestled under those covers with a good book, that task seems as daunting as running a 10K. Plus, I don't want to wake myself up more by splashing water on my face. I guess I will just have to do that around dinner time. Except that I will look all made up for the kids and random strangers at Target, and then look like a frump when Ed gets home. I'll have to think on this one. 
     Get organized. This could be a real problem. My friends can vouch for this one. One day, one of my friends pointed out that she could stand on top of my laundry pile and step directly on top of the washer (my mother is feeling nauseous about right now if she's reading). My friend even called it Mount Wash-a-me. Just five minutes ago I noticed that my four-year-old still had a pumpkin hidden in his room. Shockingly, it was still in good shape. My excuse is, and continues to be, that I do not have a housekeeper. Not even a once-a-month housekeeper, and I have two boys. And not that you need to know this, but one time I did buy a book on getting more organized...and I lost it.
     Lose weight. I still have 10 pounds of baby weight to lose. I'm not sure you can still call it baby weight when you are currently thinking about starting to planning your almost-five-year-old's birthday party. But I say if you gain 60 pounds with two pregnancies when you are well into your thirties, you should get cut a little slack. Of course the losing weight and exercise thing go hand in hand. I have yet to start exercising, and giving up Sundrops seems to be a problem. So I suppose if I really set my mind to it, I should be able to tackle this one. 
     The hardest resolution I am going to attempt to tackle is to be more kind, hold my tongue, and not always feel like I have to prove I am right. That is probably harder than all the other ones put together. I was born fiesty, but the Bible certainly doesn't say the fiesty will inherit the Earth.
     So maybe that is the answer. Whenever I feel like I want to say something that I probably shouldn't, or want to prove that I am right about something, I can just sing at the top of my lungs, run around the house, and then drink a gallon of water.
     That should knock out three resolutions right there.
*********************************************************
     So what are your resolutions? I would love to hear from you below:)