Grinch of New Year's Resolutions

                Happy New Year!!!  Yes, I am running late on posts.  I thought of doing more Christmas posts especially one on gift giving.  I also considered writing about the one year anniversary of my blog.  Alas, both those dates have come and gone.  Instead I enjoyed time with family and friends.  Yay!!!  Being it is only two days since the New Year began, I believe I will chat a little bit about resolutions. 

                I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions.  There, I said it.  In the past, I have spent time working out different things I want to do for the coming year and then work like mad to do them in January until life derails me ending in ultimate failure.  Winter months are gloomy and depressing enough, why do I want them to be worse when I fail at resolutions?  I also get really irritated with other people’s resolution.  I don’t like to watch them fail.  I also don’t like it when they take my favorite treadmill at the gym.  Yes, you can call me the Grinch of New Year’s resolutions.

                Admittedly, I reflect on how I can make myself a better person during December and January.  I read the thoughts of other writers about how I can accomplish this task.  Chuckling, I envision these people with no children, no real life, and never getting sick!  But, I also reflect on doing better February through November.  My areas of needing to improve are plentiful.  I want to have a cleaner house, a healthier budget, a skinny body, athletic stamina, a prolific writing career, a stronger prayer life, and the list can go on.  But ultimately, I love who I am right here and now.  Putting off these tasks to goof around with my kids or work on a craft project brings me great joy. 

                Everyday of the year, unless on holiday, I wake up and strive to get all my chores/resolutions done.  I write lists of things to do that I can check off throughout the day.  Rarely do I get them all checked.  Take today.  I woke up.  Thank you God!!!  My first task was to start cleaning house and get my daughter off to school.  Back home, I planned on researching at least twenty-two pages and edit for an hour along with more housework.  My oldest child derailed the process.  Instead, I did get housework done and about twelve pages researched, but I haven’t touched my editing.  If I had made the resolutions, I would already be a failure on January 3, 2012.  No thank you.  Instead I can grin that I will be marking off some of my daily tasks and that I took time out of my day for a loved one.  I am a success.

                Each day of our life, Christ asks us to become better people, to live to our great potential.  Yet, He knows we are human.  Instead of making New Year’s resolutions each year, wake up every day and strive to do the tasks before you with the knowledge that life happens.  And thank God that it does.  If it didn’t, I wouldn’t have friends to have coffee with or children to make me laugh or a beautiful day to entice me to forget my chores and play in the dirt/garden.  He gave me these gifts and I plan on enjoying them even if it means taking another year to edit my novel or having people see my messy house.  So go out and work on being a better person, but enjoy the derailments as well.

                Blessings to you all.