Dear Peeps,
When I was a kid, I did a great impersonation of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." I used to do it to crack up my bestest little friends, the sisters. I can still crack them up with it if I work really hard, I'd bet.
Whatever random television station I was watching last night played this immediately after the apple/shoe/peach fell to mark the beginning of the new year, and it reminded me of sitting outside of Wendy's waiting on our dads to bring out some cheeseburgers while this song played. Funny how those moments sneak up on you when you least expect them.
The new year always brings with it so much promise, but I'm always a little sad to see the old one go away. Not because they've always been great years, mind you, but because I know that year. It was predictable and comfy, like my green houseshoes with the soles worn thin. It fit me because I had adjusted to it. I didn't have to think about it when I wrote checks; it was instinct. Now I have to start all over again.
Just like most, I make the same promises every year....better health, more exercise, blah, blah, blah. And, just like most, I stick with it for a bit, but then I give in to summer ice cream trips with the kids and emergency runs to the drive-thru. Thus the cycle begins again....and again...and again. I've decided I'm done with that. Of course, I will clean out the fridge and buy the healthy foods because I need to do that for health reasons, but not because it's my resolution. It's just what I need to do for my body, but not my soul.
My soul resolution this year is to take a weekend or at least one day each month and to do something to recharge my batteries, so to speak, and to be a better friend. Simultaneously. I think I'm a good friend to many and a great friend to a few. I'm dependable. I'll bail you out of jail, let you borrow my clothes, give you amazing unsolicited advice, and cook for you on occasion. But, I compartmentalize my life. My family is one box; my career is one box, and my friends are a box. I try to keep these separate because, truly, sometimes I need to go to another box to save my sanity. It's harder and harder to make time for all my boxes.
I want to make 2013 the year of friendship. My goal is to spend the time each month with at least one friend. I want to travel to visit those people I always say, "We need to get together!" but then life takes over and we never do it. I want my girlfriends to come over with all their damn kids (trust me, there are a lot of kids....13, not including mine!) and let them play games and chase each other around while we chat around the kitchen table. I want to jump in the car and spend the day with my peeps in the town an hour away. I want to fly to the other side of the country to see my girlfriend and explore her new happiness.
Life has always been a series of mundane events punctuated by some spectacular event....a wedding...a funeral....a birth....a milestone of importance, such as starting school or graduating one. I have always lived for big events. I love the planning for a big trip or the anticipation of a surprise, but I fail to live in the moment. Life is about my baby girl coming into my room on a Saturday morning and cuddling in the crook of my arm. It's about explaining the ups and downs of friendship to my son. It's about watching my oldest grow into a beautiful and strong young woman. Memories are nice, don't get me wrong, but I need to leave more than memories to my children. I need to leave a legacy of love and caring about those who are important to them as part of their everyday lives.
For January we are taking the kids out of town for the day and I'm planning to invite the girls over for a night. In February there is Sisters' Prom!! i hope sometime this summer to make a trip out west if everything falls into place. As for the rest, we'll see how it goes. I'm sure I can conjure up something!
Where will 2013 take you?
Smiles,
Breathe Chick
When I was a kid, I did a great impersonation of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." I used to do it to crack up my bestest little friends, the sisters. I can still crack them up with it if I work really hard, I'd bet.
Whatever random television station I was watching last night played this immediately after the apple/shoe/peach fell to mark the beginning of the new year, and it reminded me of sitting outside of Wendy's waiting on our dads to bring out some cheeseburgers while this song played. Funny how those moments sneak up on you when you least expect them.
The new year always brings with it so much promise, but I'm always a little sad to see the old one go away. Not because they've always been great years, mind you, but because I know that year. It was predictable and comfy, like my green houseshoes with the soles worn thin. It fit me because I had adjusted to it. I didn't have to think about it when I wrote checks; it was instinct. Now I have to start all over again.
Just like most, I make the same promises every year....better health, more exercise, blah, blah, blah. And, just like most, I stick with it for a bit, but then I give in to summer ice cream trips with the kids and emergency runs to the drive-thru. Thus the cycle begins again....and again...and again. I've decided I'm done with that. Of course, I will clean out the fridge and buy the healthy foods because I need to do that for health reasons, but not because it's my resolution. It's just what I need to do for my body, but not my soul.
My soul resolution this year is to take a weekend or at least one day each month and to do something to recharge my batteries, so to speak, and to be a better friend. Simultaneously. I think I'm a good friend to many and a great friend to a few. I'm dependable. I'll bail you out of jail, let you borrow my clothes, give you amazing unsolicited advice, and cook for you on occasion. But, I compartmentalize my life. My family is one box; my career is one box, and my friends are a box. I try to keep these separate because, truly, sometimes I need to go to another box to save my sanity. It's harder and harder to make time for all my boxes.
I want to make 2013 the year of friendship. My goal is to spend the time each month with at least one friend. I want to travel to visit those people I always say, "We need to get together!" but then life takes over and we never do it. I want my girlfriends to come over with all their damn kids (trust me, there are a lot of kids....13, not including mine!) and let them play games and chase each other around while we chat around the kitchen table. I want to jump in the car and spend the day with my peeps in the town an hour away. I want to fly to the other side of the country to see my girlfriend and explore her new happiness.
Life has always been a series of mundane events punctuated by some spectacular event....a wedding...a funeral....a birth....a milestone of importance, such as starting school or graduating one. I have always lived for big events. I love the planning for a big trip or the anticipation of a surprise, but I fail to live in the moment. Life is about my baby girl coming into my room on a Saturday morning and cuddling in the crook of my arm. It's about explaining the ups and downs of friendship to my son. It's about watching my oldest grow into a beautiful and strong young woman. Memories are nice, don't get me wrong, but I need to leave more than memories to my children. I need to leave a legacy of love and caring about those who are important to them as part of their everyday lives.
For January we are taking the kids out of town for the day and I'm planning to invite the girls over for a night. In February there is Sisters' Prom!! i hope sometime this summer to make a trip out west if everything falls into place. As for the rest, we'll see how it goes. I'm sure I can conjure up something!
Where will 2013 take you?
Smiles,
Breathe Chick
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