It's been
nine months, 18 days
{41 weeks}
{292 days}
{7008 hours}
{420,480 minutes}
since I first penned
New Year's resolutions
for 2011.
Christmas is already
seeping into our collective
consciousness through retailers,
magazines and the internet, so
it wasn't a big leap for me
to think just beyond it
to our next new year.
2012.
It's coming fast.
I've decided it is time to
take stock of the goals
that I set out, here,
before the rest of the
year slips through my
fingers like fine sand.
There were only six.
Sounds simple enough
to attain, don't you think?
Ah, but sometimes
it can be hard
to get simple
just
right.
Here is my list.
1. Make every moment count.
I can't say that I have made
every 25,228,800 seconds
that comprised 2011 so far,
count. But I have tried to
focus more on being in each
moment instead of constantly
thinking ahead to the
next day
next week
next month
next year.
And I believe that counts
for something!
2. Really SEE my children.
{Some days my son jumps down
the stairs in the morning and I
swear he has grown overnight....
How did I not SEE that?}
I have practiced this
deliberate observation
repeatedly in 2011.
repeatedly in 2011.
What?
they often say to me as I
try to absorb their earnest
faces, filing away the dark
brown eyes of one and the
creamy complexion of the other.
Just looking,
I say with a smile,
knowing they won't really
understand until they have
become parents, themselves.
become parents, themselves.
3. Remember to breathe.
Look around. Just BE
from time to time.
This is the hardest one.
I feel that clock ticking
~ tick tick tick ~
constantly and the
stopping and breathing
and being
has got to be a
mindful choice.
But I have chosen it
more in 2011 than
in past years.
My favorite time to
just be
is when I take Gracie out.
It is dark now for her first
and last pit stops of the day,
which gives me two chances
to take in the vastness of the
sky, the moon and the
winking stars.
winking stars.
I breathe in that brisk fall air
and for a few moments ~
and for a few moments ~
moments that count ~
I am simply present in
this life and nothing more.
4. Pray more
Just like being truly present
in the moment, prayer takes
in the moment, prayer takes
practice. Similarly, it brings me
peace. I try to incorporate
peace. I try to incorporate
prayer into my daily tasks. It
almost becomes a sort of
meditation when I am
showering
brushing my teeth
brushing the dog
brushing my teeth
brushing the dog
folding laundry
cooking
driving
and all sorts of other chores
that occupy my hands but
leave {most} of my mind
free for gratitude, praise and
hopes for those I love.
I will always be a student
when it comes to prayer,
but one who is eager to
keep practicing.
5. Laugh more!
I suspect that my family
would grade me favorably on
this resolution. We have always
enjoyed a BIG laugh, but this
year I've tried to let humor
guide me out of a lot of different
situations, which definitely
situations, which definitely
led to more laughs within
these walls.
these walls.
And it has felt good.
Really, really good.
6. Focus on gratitude.
I used to keep a gratitude
journal when my kids were
quite little, but I lost the habit
somewhere in the chaos that
comes with raising a family.
This year I resurrected that
old journal and recently
purchased a new one for the
whole family to start jotting
down small blessings
that speak to us.
that speak to us.
We keep it open, pen ready,
in the kitchen, so many of
the entries seem to be
food-related!
But it's all gratitude,
just the same.
For me, it keeps
everything,
every
little
thing
in perspective.
Which makes life
feel like a wonderful,
magical, extraordinary
celebration.
And in the end,
isn't that where we
want our resolutions
to lead us?
If you made resolutions
for 2011, how have you
done, so far?
Is your third quarter
grade one that pleases
you, or is it an
incomplete?
There are still
two months, 14 days
{75 days}
{10 weeks}
{1800 hours}
{108,000 minutes}
to take each of the
6,480,000 seconds
left of 2011
left of 2011
and make them
count
for you.
Go for it.
Go for it.
xx
Suzanne
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