Out with the Old!!

New Year’s Reality Check Another year, another chance
To start our lives anew;
This time we’ll leap old barriers
To have a real breakthrough.We’ll take one little step
And then we’ll take one more,
Our unlimited potential
We’ll totally explore.We’ll show off all our talents
Everyone will be inspired!(Whew! While I’m writing this,
I’m getting very tired.)We’ll give up all bad habits;
We’ll read and learn a lot,
All our goals will be accomplished,
Sigh...or maybe not.Oh well, Happy New Year anyway!
Thinking about a new year and a new start, as most of us do, I realized that this past year I have reflected on my life more than any other. My husband said he'd done the same thing and we thought maybe that was what the "Mid-life Crisis" must be about. It's easy to become depressed and desensitized with all the stress that we have to deal with on a day to day basis. I have come to realize that some people deal with stress a lot better than I do! With this new found knowledge after forty-four years of life, I'm going to make the next years of my life better! I'm not making it a resolution, but better yet, a promise to myself. Here are  things I promised myself to work on. These are not necessarily in order!

1. Becoming closer to God again. I haven't walked away from the Lord, but I don't spend as much time with Him as I should. We've been through a lot as a family and I've been preoccupied with that when I should have been on my knees more. Perhaps things wouldn't have been as bad!
2. Becoming more healthy. Okay, I do have a bunch of junk in the trunk, I'll admit. However, my goal isn't to necessarily lose all the extra weight, but to eat more healthy and to start exercising more. I have two grandbabies that need me to feel better for them.
3. Taking time for me. Something else I've realized through this reflection time is that I have abused myself over the years. I should have taken time for me to read, to shop, to take a bubble bath, to sleep, to drink a cup of hot chocolate by myself, to listen to music by myself.. to be BY MYSELF at times. If you don't do this, DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I HAVE! As a result, I am a nervous wreck at times! Part of this is making my dolls. I have to quit allowing other things to get in the way of my dolls. They are ME, so this is a priority.    Take time for you and don't feel guilty about it because you will be a better person for those that you love.
4. Learn to say NO! I heard once that southern women have issues with saying no to friends and family. It's true!  I need to not be so nice. I don't need to carry guilt for saying no either! It's a lesson a lot of us need to learn!
5. Spend more time with my wonderful husband. When my husband and I got married, we started out not alone, but with his eighteen month daughter. Now, we're mid forties and have our two grandchildren living with us. I wouldn't change much, but we have never had much time together because of it. I want to make sure this changes because he and I deserve it so much! I'm going to make sure he is a priority in the new year!  

Okay, now that I have witnesses, I must do these things, right? Hehe.. now to misquote Dr. Laura.. go seize the YEAR!