New Day, New Year

I'm not one to make resolutions because I can't stand the torture I put myself through to make sure each thing gets accomplished.  While I love lists, I don't love the extra pressure a resolution list involves.  So as to not put too much on myself, I choose to look at the following list as changes I'd like to make in my life.  Some of them are ongoing, some of them will take a lot more time (and a miracle) to accomplish, but all of them are things I'd like to strive for.  Goals, if you will.  Without further ado, my list of goals that I'd like to start working on sooner rather than later:

1)  Make an attempt to slow down and enjoy the small things.  If I'm not moving at 100 mph, I feel like I'm not being as efficient as I could be.  Granted this helps me to get things done quickly but I lose the ability to savor things, to just sit back and watch, relish, and enjoy life.  My boys are growing up too quickly and if I don't slow down now, I'm going to blink and they're going to be in college!

2)  In keeping with the boys, I want to work on my patience.  Right now it's with Colin but I know Sawyer won't be far behind.  Colin tests my patience on a daily basis but he's 3.  I need to remember that and try to keep my cool, while still reinforcing the correct behavior.  I'm really trying to discover the source of his anger and mischievous behavior and stop it before it ever happens.  This is a really tough one for me and will require a LOT of self control and soul searching!

3)  Get caught up and stay caught up with the boys scrapbooks.  Even though they will probably never care one thing for these books that I have spent countless hours on, I want to tackle the pile of pictures that I haven't touched since Sawyer was born.  I finally finished a page last night, so I'm making progress already!

4)  Realize there are only 24 hours in a day and therefore, only so many things I can do.  I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew and to also not stop for anything less than perfection.  Both of these put a lot of undue stress on me and I end up beating myself up a lot.  No one will care if their birthday cake isn't 12 layers with 10 different fillings.  No one will remember that every invitation was handmade.  This is probably going to be the hardest one for me but it's an inner battle I'm ready to tackle!

5)  Spend more time with my friends.  I feel a disconnect between myself and my friends - really the rest of the world.  I get in such a routine that I don't allow myself to make time for me.  Thankfully I have great friends who are always willing to pick up wherever we last left off but the time in between visits shouldn't be so long.  I don't want to set any kind of time commitment on myself because some months are busier than others, but I think just a general effort to make time for my friends.  Spending time with my husband, just the 2 of us, fits into this category as well (:

Phew!  That's enough.  I'm starting to feel overwhelmed already.  One day at a time.  One step at a time.  Even baby steps are improvements.  That's what I need to keep reminding myself!