Intentions for a New Year

This card by Emily McDowell made me laugh… isn’t it true how we can mess up our well-intended New Year’s resolutions seemingly before we can even make them? The last few years, I’ve come up with “words” that define my goals for the coming year. Though the tradition has served me well, this year I’ve been challenging myself to delve a little deeper and really think about how I want to grow in 2013. I just started reading The Happiness Project. Have y’all read it? So good and incredibly apropos for this month of fresh starts. Anyway, I was completely drawn in by the very first line which states: I’d always vaguely expected to outgrow my limitations. One day, I’d stop twisting my hair, and wearing running shoes all the time, and eating exactly the same food every day. I’d remember my friends’ birthdays, I’d learn Photoshop…I’d spend more time laughing and having fun, I’d be more polite, I’d visit museums more often…

Does this tendency to approach life like a dress rehearsal really resonate with anyone else? It got me thinking about the importance of waking up every morning in full comprehension that I’m living my story right now, so I better make sure I’m living it like the person I want to be! Becoming a mom has added another layer of meaning, since it seems like Phoebe’s milestones seem to fly by faster than I can keep up. This is her only childhood right now, and one of my greatest fears is that I’ll let the petty circumstances of day-to-day life overshadow what really matters, and then poof! She’ll be all grown up.

I’ll probably come up with a few actual resolutions this year (try out a new recipe every week, floss, etc.) but for today, I want to practice savoring the present moment, approaching life with a spirit of gratitude and thinking about my real intentions for 2013. A few quotes that I’m reading and re-reading today…