Happy 7th day of 2020! Sounds so weird, but it has a lovely ring to it. As my four-year-old often says, “Howy, Mowy, Guacamowe!” We have made it to a new decade folks. And man does it feel good. To sum up our last two weeks of the year, the words fun, chaotic, overwhelming, whirlwind, and grateful are a few that come to mind.
Christmas is always action-packed for us, complete with a trip to Maryland to visit extended family and several rounds with our local families. It is always wonderful seeing and spending time with everyone, but throw in a sick kiddo, a few days of inconsistent sleep, and our preschool being closed, by the time December 26 rolled around, we were exhausted and ready for a reset.
Anyone else feel the need to become a minimalist right after Christmas? Like straight up wanting to live with a toilet and perhaps a bed. And maybe my computer. We are those people who fully enjoy October 31 as Halloween, but on November 1st, it’s Christmas. The tree goes up, the décor goes out, and we are ready for Santa. So by December 27, give or take a day, we are ready for it all to go away. This year, we spent about two days purging everything and anything.
Out with the old, in with the new. If we didn’t decorate with it this year, gone. If I hadn’t worn it in a year, gone. If I just flat out didn’t want to look at it anymore, gone. Seven bags for Goodwill and probably 15 bags of trash later, I actually felt lighter. My house looks bare, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Our toy bins are no longer overflowing. I can walk into my closet. Believe it or not, we currently have a completely empty drawer in our kitchen. Whoa.
I found myself thinking more about 2020 than I remember anticipating any other new year, getting excited for a fresh start. Just something about a new decade, I suppose. And with this new decade, I figured I would try something new. In years past, I have gotten in my head with all different types of “New Years Resolutions.” I put this pressure on myself that made January 1st a day for permanent change with no going back. I’m going to cut out sugar. I’m losing 25 pounds. I’m exercising every day. I’m going to meal plan every Sunday. I’m going to wake up 30 minutes before my kids to have some “alone” time. Blah blah blah and the list goes on. And when I found myself slipping up or not doing all of these things at the same time, I felt awful. Like an utter failure. So I would just say screw it and fall back into whatever habits I was doing on December 31.
But this year, I’m approaching resolutions with a different mindset. First off, I’m not going to look at them as “resolutions”. I want to live a healthier lifestyle, and I’m going to accomplish this little by little rather than eliminating or starting everything all at once. For each month of 2020, I am going to do something I wouldn’t normally do.
For instance, this month, I am partaking in “Sober January”. We all have the tendency to overindulge over the holidays, and while I had my fair share of fun, I’d like to change it up and give alcohol a little break. I’ve attempted Sober January before, but have never been successful. Reflecting back, I’ve discovered it’s because I set a bunch of other unrealistic goals that needed to be done all at the same time.
It’s a mental thing for me. Giving myself small goals where the finish line comes after 29-31 days is totally doable. And my hope is that I will develop some different habits, be more present in the moment because my mind isn’t thinking about 10 other goals, and overall become more intentional in the process.
The fresh start bead can look however you want it to look. Big or small. Colorful or plain. Perfectly round or funky in shape. However yours looks, I hope you feel good about it. There is no pressure. There is no right or wrong. A fresh start doesn’t even have to mean change. It can literally be just the start of a new decade. Either way, I think we can all be happy about having a perfect vision of what this year is going to look like. Get it? Happy 2020 everyone.