Happy New Year!
It’s a new start, a blank slate, forgiveness, opportunity, a deep breath…
Today is your opportunity to do better this year and forgive yourself for your shortcomings last year. Today is the day to love yourself and the people and animals in your life. Today is the day millions of people around the world vow to exercise more, give up chocolate, stop yelling at their kids, and get a better job.
How about being specific with your resolutions this year? Instead of: I will hug my kids more, how about: I will tell Jason how much I appreciate it when he helps me set the table; I will play Legos with Lily for 20 uninterrupted minutes today; I will pet Scruffy and talk to him for 5 whole minutes this morning. I will rub John’s shoulders for 10 minutes tonight.
Resolutions tend to start out strong and then simmer to a stop within weeks. We all have excellent intentions, but life is busy and chaotic and hard to manage sometimes. So I am suggesting that instead of making blanket resolutions this year, make a daily commitment to spend 5 minutes each morning writing your daily resolutions to your family. Create an event in your phone that repeats each day for a year. It should look like this: Spouse/partner: Child 1: Child 2: Dog: etc. Then fill in the blanks each day with a word or two (thank for set table, Legos, 5 min attention, shoulder rub).
Think about the things that would mean the most to each of your family members. It can be very small, but do something each day to show each one that you love them. Today is the day to smile and hope and believe and laugh and be proud of who you are and how you love. Happy New Year!