Well, you know.  We all want to change the world.

I used to be a dedicated non-resolution-maker, but in the past couple years I have made – and kept! – resolutions at New Year’s.  Of course, one of those resolutions was to learn how to bake bread, so it’s not like I’m asking the impossible of myself (bread baking, it turns out, is remarkably easy).  Last year I resolved to be more social, and to stop drinking on weekdays.  I did both of those things, and I continue to do them, as I continue to bake bread regularly.  It was a bit harder – I had to get myself out of my homebody rut a bit, and I had to get used to relaxing on the couch without a glass of red – but I found that they were resolutions that really had a positive impact on me, both my body and my mind.  My yoga practice improved and I know giving up the weekday wine had a part in that.

I had to think for a while to decide on resolutions for this year.  If I’m going to resolve to do something, I want it to be something lasting, a lifestyle change, if you will.  I have decided on the following resolutions for 2012:

Drink Less Coffee

Don’t get me wrong, I still heart coffee very much and I am still going to enjoy 3-4 cups a day, but it’s going to be 3-4 cups a day, rather than 6-8 cups a day, and I don’t think I need to explain this further.  To this end I have stocked up on tea.  Helllllooooo, methadone!  To be honest, the teas I have stocked up on are herbal and/or decaf, so it’s not exactly a methadone situation.  It’s more like one of those plastic pretend cigarettes people use to quit smoking.  I am cold all the time and I like to sip on something warming, so I think the teas will be just the ticket.

Be More Patient

This is mostly for the kids.  It’s not that I’m particularly impatient with the kids, but I do find myself becoming snappish or going into “fly-off-the-handle” mode for silly things.  This is not to imply that I’m going to let my children run wild and undisciplined while I explain quietly that Mommy Does Not Like That Behaviour And Here Are The Reasons Why, but I’m going to be more patient with them being just…kids.  I want to be more patient with regular kid silliness and regular kid requests, rather than getting annoyed and impatient.  Also, have you ever noticed that we – or, I should say, I – have a tendency to talk to my kids in a way that I would never use to speak to anyone else.  Why should the people who live in my house, who I love more than anything, have to be spoken to in a less-kind way than I would speak to a perfect stranger?  It does not make sense.

Walk Away From Negativity

I have decided not to let negativity affect me negatively.  Get it?  There are certain individuals in my life who are, for lack of a better word, very negative people, and I’m tired of letting their negativity ruin my day.  What I need to remember is that passive aggressive comments geared toward myself, my husband, or my kids only reflect on the commenter.  Right?  I AM RUBBER YOU ARE GLUE.  This is going to be a tough one for me; it’s always easier to believe the negative things, rather than the glowing reviews, strangely enough.  I’ve spent a lifetime taking things like that to heart, when really, a passive-aggressive person is only showing their own insecurities and that should not affect my day and make me sad.  A very good friend reminded me that an easy way to deal with negative people is to be compassionate; consider how awful that person’s outlook must be in order to be negative all the time.  I’m really going to try this; I’ll let you know how it goes.

Did you make any resolutions this year?  Do you ever?