Working Wives & Bachelorettes: Happy New Year!

On Saturday night/early Sunday morning, we all bid farewell to 2011. Some wishing the door would hit the year in its ass on the way out, some remembering the year fondly like a good friend who suddenly had to leave. I have to admit, I was completely indifferent about 2011. My life has settled into a comfortable routine and aside from the everyday ups and downs, remains fairly quiet. I am not at all upset by this, in fact, quite the opposite. Quiet is good. Quiet means simple. I like quiet.

I was looking over my resolutions for 2011--which aren't really resolutions at all, but more of a bucket list cross-sectioned with a to-do list. As a strict type A personality, to-do lists are my way of showing the world my accomplishments--one crossed off item at a time. My 2011 "to-do's" weren't much different...except I didn't actually do many of them.

I keep the list in my draft folder of my email and would check on it now and again. Clearly, I had made some "resolutions" that I felt I should make, but were a bit cliche. Things I never actually intended on doing. The beautiful thing about a list on the computer is, if you don't get to it, you can always just highlight and delete! As a type A, I wouldn't do that. Just beat myself up over what I did not accomplish!

There were a few that I did stick to and follow through on and that I will continue to work on. But, and this is probably the most important thing, there are a bunch of things I had never included on my list from 2011 that I just so happen to accomplish. I ran two half-marathons (more importantly, I found the time to train for them), I started working for trade at my local yoga shop, I spent more time with my friends. The list goes on and on, but the overall "thing" that I accomplished, that as a working mom with extra special kids with extra special circumstances, is that I finally made time for me. I never thought of adding that to my 2011 to-do list, it just sort of happend. And I'm happy that it did. Sometimes getting side-tracked and derailed is just what we need, even when it isn't part of the master plan.

In the end, I guess making time for myself is as cliche as resolving to "get fit" or "quit smoking," but as a type A, I have written the extra BIG thing down that I accomplished and promptly crossed it off!