Really, I can tell you all the ways my life needs to change. I can make a list. I love to make lists. I mean, I LOOOOVE to make lists. The hard part is getting me to check anything off the list. My list for this year is extensive. I want to lose weight, get a job, move into a bigger house, find a good church, get my daughter into a good preschool, organize my house, make my marriage enviable, spend more time with my kids one-on-one, start a garden, raise some chickens, talk my husband into getting a miniature cow, teach my eldest son how to drive, establish a regular exercise routine, and whatever I have to do to turn myself into the “better woman” that my sister will be completely jealous of when I visit her at the birth of her fifth child in July. That may necessitate a growth spurt in which I grow another half a foot taller. A lot of that is never going to happen. What I actually have the best chance of accomplishing is the weight loss. I would say the job, but the preschool doesn’t yet exist in this area and that would be necessary in order to work outside the home. So, weight loss it is. If that works out, the growth spurt may not be so important. What I like to do is explore my beautiful mountain property. I’ve also gotten a lot better at eating healthy foods instead of comfort foods. These two things make weight loss more attainable than ever before. When I lived in Wichita, it was kind of scary to go out alone. I’m a country girl and all the people and pollution and noise just went totally against my idea of a nice healthy run. Forget walking when there was literally nothing interesting to look at and no way you could lose yourself in an upbeat playlist on your iPod when you are constantly using all your senses to keep from being mugged. Look, Wichita is not Chicago or Detroit, but it is not known for it’s healthy citizens for good reason.
Tomorrow will be beautiful. I fully intend to make the most of the weather. In a few days it will snow again and the temperature will drop twenty degrees. I fully intend to take advantage of that, too. Being cooped up in a cabin with a toddler does not mean I’m stuck under a pile of warm blankets all day drinking hot cocoa. I said toddler, so that pretty much throws out the lying still in one place part, anyway. I will be running around the house chasing someone naked from the waist down at least twice a day. At some point we will hear a song on the satellite radio or television that is just begging us to get up and dance. It will take five trips to the refrigerator to get just the right food for lunch, and by that time I will not have an appetite. I really can’t believe I gained weight over these last 20 months with a new baby, until I think back on all the times my loving husband brought home a gift of chocolates or my favorite fattening foods. There were also times earlier on when I didn’t want to take her out because it was too cold or rainy and all she seemed to want to do was sleep — in my arms. Last summer it seemed to rain every afternoon between naps. So, I guess it wasn’t too hard to let the pounds sneak back on. The trick is to have a plan B. When we’re going through our summer rainy season, go out earlier in the day (even if it means wearing a light jacket in the middle of August). She’s a mountain girl and should get used to the climate up here, anyway. My husband is only home one week out of the month, so I can splurge if I behave the other weeks. If we go out on our walks during her nap time, maybe she can nap and I can get some “alone” time. If we go before her nap, she may sleep more soundly so that I can get something else done besides watch her sleep.
New Year’s resolutions hardly ever last, but resolving to keep living and growing and changing and learning from your mistakes doesn’t need it’s own holiday. It can be an everyday thing. If I had to have a resolution, I suppose it would be to keep my resolve no matter what new or old obstacles cross my path. Even if one of them just happens to be the most adorable little imp around.