Resolve

Like oodles of people, I typically approach December 31 with a mental list of resolutions for the next year. Last year I resolved to nag less (don’t laugh!), and to launch a pregnancy. I accomplished both, but I now realize that creating a child was a dumb thing to make into a resolution, seeing as how one’s body, among a billion other things, must cooperate—and these are not things you can necessarily control. And really, New Year’s didn’t have a thing to do with it. It would have happened regardless of a concerted thought on December 31, 2008 of “I want to start making a family in 2009.” Still, realizing that 2009 was on its way out the door, I paused to reflect on possible resolutions for 2010. Then I realized that I have no resolutions to make. There’s nothing in my life to change. Does that mean there’s not room for improvement in certain areas? Oh, of course not. But I’m pretty good at trying to improve those areas that I think need improvement pretty much from the get-go. I like to nip most things in the bud, not wait until January 1. Besides, I’m pretty happy with how my life is chugging along. I, along with Chris in most cases, accomplished a lot in 2009. We have some BIG changes on the horizon and a nice amount of momentum to tackle them. And we’re taking on these new challenges, regardless of it being a new year. Sure, I could say, “I want to lose the pregnancy weight.” Nice and concrete, right? With numbers and everything. But I’m anti-weight loss. I believe in being healthy and active, not counting calories, weighing portions, or even weighing in. I think that if you make a decent effort, nature will balance things out. (This perspective comes from someone who inherited my father’s metabolism and who, as of yet, has not had children. I’m possibly full of crap.) Mainly, I don’t want to worry about it. There will plenty to worry about with a new baby. I could say that I want to be the best mom ever. But seriously? That’s not a New Year’s resolution. That’s my goal for the next 18+ years, period. The only thing special about ringing in 2010 as far as being a mom goes is that this is the year I’ll become one. I could create a resolution related to work, but I already have some things put in motion (as well as a back-up plan), and it’s out of my hands at this point. I know what I want out of my job and I’ve already taken the steps to get it. There’s nothing I can do now but wait. (I know, that was a very vague paragraph. Fingers crossed that I can elaborate in a few weeks.) I could do one of those magazine-inspired resolutions, like “do something new every day” or “learn a new hobby.” But I’m thinking that with a newborn, I’ll be faced with plenty of new-ness but not a lot of time. Let’s be reasonable, after all. So really, I have made just one resolution: I have resolved to make no resolutions. I’ll revisit the idea at the end of 2010.