For what it's worth: It's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
I am not one to be big on new year's resolutions. Not because I don't believe in evaluating times past, goal setting, or making changes in one's life; but because I don't typically like to wait for a set date (January 1st) to reflect and potentially alter areas of my life that I want to change. I attempt to think and live the philosophy that life, and the situations and moments that make it up, are what we make it. In that vein, when I don't like a situation in my life or a direction it is headed, I very promptly take a new course of action. In this way, I am also not much of a worrier because if I have a problem or something is bothering me, then I evaluate my options, decidedly select the best option for me, and implement as necessary.
But, back to the concept of resolutions. This year, like any new mom or parent would say, time has just flown by {you know, that "days are long, years are short" crap}. I find a beautiful Christmas {more on that next week} has come and gone and now we are in a new year; my baby is almost eight months old. I also find that there are some changes that I want to make in my life, things that I have been thinking about for quite some time, but that didn't get dealt with as swiftly as they may have in the past {that whole becoming a mom and being overwhelmed by it thing had a lot to do with it}.
So, it happens to coincide with January 2014, but these are the things that are on my mind. Call this list my resolutions if you must.
PERSONAL LIFE
I want to be a better mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. Life is fast; and I get so wrapped up in my own shit that I often don't savor the beautiful simplicity of life. This is obviously a blanket statement, and even an exaggeration; but I want to make a more conscious effort to be present with those I love.
I want to be more present with my Johns when we are enjoying activities together and even when we are doing nothing at all. As the three and four of us {including Mocha in there when possible}, I want to set aside more time to go on walks, go to get coffee, try a new breakfast spot, go on bike rides, go on hikes, go snowshoeing, relax on the couch. I want to set aside time for these things and I want to be in the moment when I do them, meaning I want to unplug from other distractions, technology included. I also want to do more traveling together, whether it is day trips, weekend trips, or longer.
I want to date my husband. At least one day or night a week I want to do something just him and I {no baby}. Dinner out will be a favorite way to spend this time, I am sure; but a run together {no stroller}, going to see a movie; going to walk around a shopping district/museum/etc., watching a movie on the couch, tackling some creative project together, or sitting in a coffee shop are all perfect possibilities too.
I want to be truly present as I continue to cultivate the relationship with my son. I feel very fortunate that I get to be with him every day, all day and I want to live that gratitude by making our moments together meaningful whether they are exciting and fun {a new experience, going to the pool, swinging in the park} or regular and everyday {going to the grocery store, running errands, getting stuff done around the house}. I want to enjoy the newness of each of John's firsts; and I want to relish in the comfort of our everyday routine and interactions. I know that this time will pass in the blink of an eye and I want to know that I soaked it all in. Specifically, I want to continue to read to John; I love to read to him. I want to go to music class more often. I want to start swim lessons with him. I want to do the things as a family I mentioned above.
I want to be more present when I am with my mom, dad, and sister. I truly cherish and enjoy every moment I have with them. I want to live this gratitude by, again, earnestly participating in our time together without distractions whether we are doing the momentous and mundane.
I want to be a better mom to Mocha. I want to include her on more walks and runs; take her with us hiking, trail running, and snow shoeing. I want to focus on her well being and keep her the healthiest 10+ year old dog possible {she'll be 11 in March!}.
I want to be the friend my beautiful friends deserve. I cannot believe my good fortune at how many amazing friendships I have in my life. Most are from my time in Durango; some go farther back than that. I want to invest time into these relationships; making an effort to make plans more often and seeing my friends on a more regular basis. I also want to pursue some budding relationships and nurture those new relationships. I want to spend more quality time with my friends. Perhaps most importantly, I want to make myself available to my friends when/if they need me.
HEALTH + NUTRITION
As I have been publishing my healthy food lifestyle series, I have been evaluating how I am currently eating. I want to eat more vegetables and legumes. I have been eating healthy, but I have not been "eating the rainbow", as they say, which is NOT some euphemism for something spiritual, but it means eating a broad array of vegetables an fruits.
For a long time after little John's arrival, I have not been cooking, which contrasts to before he was born when I cooked every breakfast and lunch, as well as six out of seven dinners a week. We still don't eat out a ton {thanks to my mom's cooking and Whole Foods prepared foods options}, but I want to start to cook more often again, which is really the best way to make sure we are eating a great variety of vegetables and fruits, as well as lean protein, beans, nuts and seeds.
Finding time to run has become increasingly stressful for me. I have been very fortunate to fit in a run six days a week most weeks, however, the quality of my runs and the distance have suffered. The quality has suffered in large part because I find I often stress about when and how I will get my run in. The anticipation of the my daily run has become more anxiety producing than it ever should have. My distance has suffered because I am often doing my run at whatever time is most convenient to little John's feeding and nap schedule, which is at odds with what is most convenient for the rest of my day and other plans/obligations I may have. Little John is the priority, so my run is crammed in and often cut short. To remedy this, I plan to run very early in the morning before little John wakes up. I will wake up and run about an hour before he wakes up. I will have a whole hour to run, so I can get in up to 6 or 7 miles when I want to, not have to push the stroller, or coordinate some one to watch John; and I don't have to worry about trying to fit in my run the rest of the day.
PROFESSIONAL + WORK
Before Christmas I was on a road to major burnout. I was working for 5-6 hours most nights after putting little John to bed. That meant I was up very late; and after staring at my computer screen for hours on end, it was difficult to fall asleep when my head would finally hit the pillow. Mornings are early for us, too, so going to bed after midnight makes getting up early, to put it bluntly, painful.
Part of that problem has been solved for me; little John has decided on his own that he requires an earlier bed time. So, I have been putting him to bed earlier and that means I can get started on work earlier in the evening, plus I have a little time to unwind after working.
I also need to get some work done during the day, though; not rely solely on nighttime to get my work done. Little John doesn't have a set nap schedule, so I cannot count on nap time for work time, unfortunately. Sometimes he naps for a couple hours, other times only for thirty minutes. Either way, I typically use that time to get things done around the house. In order to get some work done during the day, I will be having some one {most likely my mom} watch John for several hours at least one day a week, maybe two days a week.
I have several projects and design ideas that I really want to explore and develop. I have three in particular that I would really like to make some progress on, and in doing so I would be pushing myself creatively. In pursuing theses projects, I will also be working towards the general umbrella goal of continuing to grow my business ventures.
MY BLOG - &CHLOE
I have some changes to implement right here on my blog, too. To start, I am currently working with a designer and programmer to completely revamp &chloe. We are in the very beginning stages, so I am not even sure yet where this will take me, but it will definitely include new branding and it might include a switch over to WordPress. Not sure what the timeframe on it looks like, but it is happening. I am sure I won't be able to resist sharing updates as things progress.
I am incorporating the changes I mentioned in this post in response to creating and curating content here on &chloe that you want and that I enjoy putting out. I will be doing much more lifestyle posting. In order to make this content robust, I really need to generate great photography for it. So, I have invested in a DSLR and I am currently taking a photography class. The photography knowledge will also enrich all other posts as well, from recipe/food posts to fashion posts. I want to incorporate my own photography and I want those photos to be worthy of the new blog facelift that will be implemented in the first part of 2014.
So there you have it. My rather detailed, and what I think are highly personal plans and goals for 2014.
Oh and by the way, and the happiest of new years to you.
Have you set some goals for 2014? Do you make plans for the years ahead?
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