Personal Best in 2011, or, Mission: Lose The Sweatpants

So, resolutions... I'm never even sure if I want to make any, but I did think of a few that seem kind of important, not just "oh it's resolution time so I'd better come up with SOMETHING to better myself." They are important because the fact that I even have to MAKE these resolutions speaks to a tragic lack of self care bordering on lack of hygiene, even. It's pathetic. But here goes:

-Go to bed before midnight, preferably by eleven, even if things aren't picked up and tidy yet. Sleep is more important to my sanity even than a clean house, which became painfully clear the last few days when, after a stretch of three nights when I didn't get to bed until after two am, I was nearly incoherent with exhaustion. Also, not very patient or polite with my immediate family members. So. More sleep.

-Get dressed in something I wouldn't be embarrassed to wear in public by ten am. This is the one that's particularly sad and tragic, here. I realized it was becoming a problem when we were playing a game called ImaginIff with our friends the other night, and my question was, "Imagine if Sarah were a type of clothing. What would she be? ...And everyone chose BATHROBE. The choices were business suit, jeans, bathrobe, thong, and I think evening gown, and I blithely assumed everyone would choose jeans. Nope. Went to right to the bathrobe. Not a good sign.

-Make sure kids' faces are washed and hair is brushed each morning. More sadness here. But it's true that sometimes they can make it through a day without either thing happening, if they haven't eaten anything messy and it wasn't a Bath Day.

-Stop stressing when the house isn't tidy or I don't get around to deep cleaning stuff. I feel like the things I worry about are the things only I notice or care about. As long as everyone else is fed, has clean clothes and can find a path through the floor, they're happy, so I don't know why I fret so much about how regularly the tub is getting scrubbed. I need to focus more on things that effect everyone's general mood rather than just my own.

-Kind of on the flip side, I DO need to pay a little more attention to what triggers my descent into Bad Moods and then head them off at the impasse, so to speak. My own happiness is in fact very important to my kids, because once I'm grouchy there's not a chance the kids are going to stay pleasant and cooperative very long. It is in the entire family's best interest that I take care of myself to at least the extent that I don't feel exasperated/exhausted by the end of the day.

-Try to stay more connected to the two sisters who don't live nearby. I'm terrible about things like checking email and making regular phone calls, but I really need to make more of an effort to stay in touch with them beyond random text messaging. I feel sad and miss them when I DON'T make a point of talking. And, you know, I assume they feel the same. One hopes.

-Stop being late to everything, ftlog. I chronically underestimate how long it's going to take me to get out of the house with three kids. EVERY TIME, I underestimate. I need to just give in and PLAN on it taking a half hour from starting to get shoes on until we're actually pulling out of the driveway. Though, uh, I'm pretty sure I made this resolution last year. And every year since I got my driver's license and started being in charge of my own timeliness.

-And finally, enough of all this noble junk. No less than three of my friends from high school are getting married in 2011, and I am a bridesmaid in one of the weddings. I am WICKED excited, and I hereby resolve to have myself a darn good time, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN AND I THINK YOU DO. I had a fairly lam-o bachelorette party personally, as all of my bridesmaids and I myself were under twenty one. And I was pregnant and on bedrest when I finally did turn twenty one. So this is my year to atone for those tragic personal losses in my young life. My mission is to be mistaken for a single, childless person without a care in the world at least once. :)