New Year's Resolution

So I decided I wanted to start a blog.  Not sure why, just thought it would be something I would enjoy.  Like I don’t have enough to do already.  The idea bounced around my head for about a month before I mentioned it to my husband.  I was a little timid at first not sure how he would respond.  He loved the idea.  What should I call it? I asked.  Interesting question.  Consistent with my husband’s personality, he told me to grab a piece a paper and start brainstorming.  Write down words that you think reflect the types of topics you want to discuss.  He went on to encourage me to think what type of name I wanted: Cutesy, Funny, Play on Words, Common Phrasing, Dry.  I began writing down all the topics I thought I might know enough about that others could benefit from my sharing.  Of course things like cloth diapers and new mommy lessons topped my list, but there are already so many blogs about these topics.  So I took a break…for about 3 weeks.  I continued to think and reflect, mulling over different ideas, posts, photos, lessons, and questions that I could focus on.  One night as I was playing on Pinterest, I came across a blog post that someone pinned about how to be a better blogger.  Since my fear is that I will be a terrible blogger, I read it.  The points seemed pretty simple and obvious; write what you know, write how you talk, don’t bring people down with whining, and be original.  Well shoot.  I can’t really be original by writing about cloth diapers; I mean really how many posts can you read about “Where Does the Poo go?” and “How to Get the Stink Out.”  And who really wants to read about another first time mom making all the same mistakes and learning how to operate on 3 hours of sleep.  So I started typing keywords into Google to find blogs that matched words from my original brainstorm list. I tried funny names: “Whine and Cheese.” I tried cutesy names: “Diapers and Dishes.” I tried straightforward names: “Adventures of a First Time Mom.” I tried play on words: “Between the Naps.”  All were taken (and all were good.)  So again I put the idea on the back burner for a few weeks. 

As I started to plan my son’s birthday party, I knew what I wanted to write about.

Looking back over the past year, I realized something about motherhood, something people indirectly tell you with all the “new mom” stories and “first time mommy” lesson.  Motherhood is divided into two parts: Year 1 and Beyond.  Year 1 is about survival.  You learn to survive on little/no sleep, food, and time to you self, or showering.  You learn to survive the guilt, the heartache, the first bump and bruises.  You learn to survive the overwhelming feeling of love, joy, and happiness that makes you feel if you may explode at the sound of one more giggle.  You learn to survive your mistakes, advice from strangers, and probing questions that make feel like you are doing it all wrong.  You learn to survive watching a piece of yourself grow into the most beautiful human being that you have ever met.  Then comes the next part of motherhood: the Beyond.  Now you have a choice to make, and for some, it is a difficult choice.  You must decide if you are going to continue to just survive life as a mommy or if you are going to push yourself to thrive. I have decided that I am going to thrive.  This will be my time to shine.  To grow as a person, partner, and mother.  I will achieve goals I never knew I had and develop skills I never knew I wanted.

So with this new year in my son’s life I am setting some goals for myself and I have decided to write a blog about my journey through the “Beyond” as a “thriving” mother.

Here are my  “New” Year’s Resolutions

1.     Try every day to be the best mom I can be (by playing more, and worrying less)

2.     Make more time to develop myself and more me time (Lose the last 5 pregnancy pounds, and maybe take a cooking class)

3.     Do something every day to connect with my spouse ( Let’s make list check off as we do it)