We are 5 days into 2018 and I don’t have a resolution. I don’t buy the whole ‘New Year’s resolution’ concept. If there is something you want to change or try or work through, why are we waiting until the New Year to start? Tomorrow is a new day and it’s never too late to try again, start over, set a new goal or take a second chance. Cliché right? But no more cliché than the concept of a New Year’s resolution. My little cliché revelation applies to motherhood over all else.
Think about it. You had a bad day and yelled a hell of a lot more than you’d care to admit. You crawl into bed that night and feel enormously guilty over how you treated your family. So, what do you do? It’s January 5th. You aren’t going to wait for the New Year to hit the reset the button. You are going to promise yourself that tomorrow, you will do better, you will try harder and you will make it right. Will you lose your patience again? Absolutely. But when we crawl into bed that night and promise ourselves that we’ll do better tomorrow, we’re already doing the best possible thing we can do. We’re trying to better ourselves, we’re trying to do the right thing, we’re trying to keep it together. Forget New Year’s resolutions, us momma’s are all about the New Day Resolutions, whether we even realize it or not.
When we lay our head down at night we make ourselves a million promises, a million New Day Resolutions. There are the real…
I will be more patient.
Tomorrow I will be kind.
Tomorrow I will make sure we get the day off to a better start.
I will not rush my children through the day.
Tomorrow I will be more present.
I will spend less time on my phone.
Tomorrow I will really limit screen time.
I will not focus on the small things and better choose my battles.
I will not worry so much about the mess and let them just be little.
And then there are the realest…
I will change the kids sheets tomorrow.
I will change the laundry and not just restart the washer for the 18th time.
I will give my kids a bath tomorrow. It’s been far too long.
Tomorrow we will eat something besides Mac and Cheese.
I will not lose my shit tomorrow.
I will remember to charge that tablet so I can have 15 minutes to breath tomorrow.
I will not get frustrated when the kids say my name 1000 times in 24 hours.
I will not mumble curse words under my breath (or not under my breath) when I get angry.
I will take care of that pile of dishes in the sink.
Now, if you are one who LOVES the New Year’s resolution and makes a strict goal on January 1 – I support you wholeheartedly. Who am I to judge someone for trying to better themselves? Good for you – you are much braver than I. I hope you crush that goal and then some. I, on the other hand, like to set the bar a little lower. This motherhood game isn’t one that’s taken a year at a time, it’s taken one day at a time. A New Year’s resolution to be more patient – I would break it in two days, maybe less. A New Day’s resolution? Now, that’s an attainable goal and one we can all get behind.
Will we set these New Day Resolutions every single day? No, probably not – the hope is that we won’t have too. There will be days when we just get it right (like the days we aren’t with our children at all 🙂 ). They may be few and far between, but there will be days when everything just clicks. So, those nights maybe our only resolution will be to try and have more days just like that one. So, screw the New Year’s resolutions and focus on the new day. There are 360 days left in this year and if we’re lucky and focus on one day a time, we can make many of those day’s good ones.
360 days from now, when we’re faced with looking back on 2018 – my hope for all of us is that as we click those champagne glasses and head to bed well before that sparkly ball drops , that we end the year confident that we simply tried our best. And hell, if not, make a New Day’s Resolution to try your best the next day.
Mommy Diatribes
Leave a Reply