- Quit drinking Diet Coke. Lord help me. Oof! This one is a doozie. I'm 22 days in and while the physical cravings are long gone, as soon as the kids start singing loudly while chasing each other around the dining room table, all I want is a nice cold Diet Coke, preferably in a 32 oz. Styrofoam cup (horrible for the environment, I know!). My reasons for quitting are many: I often caught Graydon sneaking sips, which is how I started drinking it as a very young age; I was wasting tons of money at the drive-through every day, sometimes twice a day (!); I was getting near daily stomach aches and headaches from the caffeine and acidity; and I'm trying to do everything I can to reduce my anxiety, and reducing my caffeine intake seems to have helped with that. It hasn't been easy, and I still feel triggered when I go to restaurants where I'd normally order Diet Coke, but I've replaced it with lightly sweetened or unsweetened iced tea or sparkling water when the cravings hit.
- Meditate daily. I purchased a subscription to Headspace and have enjoyed turning it on while I lay with Graydon as he falls asleep at night. There are both kid and adult versions, though he usually conks out after just a couple of minutes, allowing me to continue meditating after he's asleep.
- Exercise 3 days / week. This is a tricky one. I was doing really well when I had the kids with me on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays (plus I'd sometimes sneak in an extra class on Saturdays). Our gym has great daycare that's included in our family pass. The littles stay in one area with lots of toys and stations, and the bigs go to the gym to run around, play basketball, etc. I really looked forward to going to a 9AM class, both for some time away from the kids, especially as they've been waking up at 5AM lately (!) and to give them the chance to play and run in the gym. Now that they are in daycare on Mondays and Wednesday mornings, I have to admit that I am less apt to go. I often drop them off and then want to come home and write or clean or just savor the quiet before going into work for the day. We're still not sure if they're going to stick with their current daycare, so I may be back to my MWF schedule sooner than later. This goal has more to do with anxiety management than weight, but I do enjoy the results I see when I'm working out consistently!
- Write weekly. I regularly write in my journal, but I've been longing to blog for the sense of community and self-expression it gives me. Also, I've loved looking back on early posts here from when Mike and I were just dating (babies!). Now that we're married with two kids and our life looks completely different than it did back then, I'm so happy to have a record of the little things that meant so much to me in our earlier life together. As cliche as it is, the days are long but the years are short, and I want to capture the fullness of life right now as best as I can in this space. One of the things I'm working on right now is inhabiting my life. I often look at the future or imagine myself in a different life (town, work, relationship, body, etc.). I'm focusing now on embracing the life I do have, with all of its beautiful imperfections, and writing is one way that I can see my life more clearly.
- Plant a garden. Mike and I have been thinking about what our kids eat, and we want them to learn where food really comes from. This year we'd like to start a small garden to give us something to do together as a family, and to help instill in our kids a strong work ethic and a connection to the earth. We're trying to curb screen time as much as we can (and have often flirted with the idea of getting rid of our TV altogether). I like that gardening would get us all outside more, plus reduce our grocery bill.
- Outsource @ work. This is my only career goal for the year, and it may seem like an odd one; however, I've cut back my work hours to just 30 hours per week (due to childcare needs and wanting more margin in my life, aka less running back and forth, switching off kids, etc.). Mike was recently promoted and his work schedule is more demanding right now. I find myself taking on more responsibilities at home (though he's never asked me to) and wanting to be more available to our kids (again, by my choice, rather than his suggestion). Also, as a Director of Children's Ministry, I believe it's my goal to Engage and Equip volunteers - it allows others to use their gifts to serve, helps the ministry not "live" with just one person (me!), and engages a wider audience of people in the hopes of expanding the program and bringing more people to a deeper relationship with God. In the past I've tried to do it all, and that's not healthy for me, or the program. So this year I'm striving to bring as many volunteers on board, even when it may feel easier or faster to do something myself. I think the key will be identifying key roles, clearly communicating what needs to be done, and matching the role with the individual's natural gifts, availability and passions. So far so good!
So those are my goals for the year - I'll be providing updates along the way :)
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