December 31, 2017
Hello New Year!
I am writing you this letter as a reminder to myself that you will be a year of renewal. I find myself coming to this exact same realization at the same time every year, the day before the next New Year. A list of all my ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ and how to make myself be ‘The Best Me Possible!’ ready to go. As with all my lists, they seem to dissipate and lose their luster just after 1 week. Perhaps I misplaced the list or even forgot about it in all the chaos.
Could it be possible that this list is not what I truly needed to be a ‘better’ version of me? Don’t we all seem to fall in this black hole of feeling like we need to make promises to ourselves to be in better shape, be a better mother, be a better wife, etc, etc, etc? This list may differ among us all, but one word will remain the same … ‘better.’
Why does each New Year bring this desire that we need to be ‘better?!’ Have we not had those ‘better me’ moments throughout the past year? What about the time when one of my kids was sick and I was there for him? What about the time I made sure there was some sort of meal on the table for my family, be it microwavable, fast food, or possibly even made from scratch?
As I took a moment this morning to myself, I contemplated what this year was going to bring. No, not a ‘better’ me list. I was already being the best I could be. Shoot, any parent juggling kids in this world deserves a HUGE ‘better’ me award. This year was going to be a year of renewal.
I am going to take the time to ‘restart’ when things get a little overwhelming. I mean, don’t our computers need to be ‘restarted’ from time to time? I believe we need to be doing the same thing. When we go, go, go, we sort of lose ourselves in the madness.
It is then when we feel like we are not our ‘better’ selves. It is then when we let the world around us criticize and judge. If I take the time to ‘restart’ myself, I will be ready to conquer even more that comes my way.
How do I plan to press the ‘restart’ button? Just by stopping. STOP. Take a moment away from the crazy world around me, may it be a bubble bath, a quick run around the neighborhood alone, or even 30 minutes – 1 hour of quiet time before the kids wake up. I will find my moment to ‘restart.’
So year 2018, I come to you with new thoughts and feelings. I will not strive to be a ‘better’ me. I will instead view you as my year of renewal.
Cheers!
