I Resolve....

David McMahanon of Authorblog has asked a question this week about New Year's Resolutions. He wants to know if we've ever broken a New Year's Resolution.

Ha Ha! I would be easier for me to answer how many New Year's Resolutions I have made and kept.

Know how easy that would be to count those resolutions made and carried out. For me, it would be ultra simple because the answer would be a big fat "ZERO!"

I have, over the years, made numerous resolutions - virtually everything from soup to nuts types too I think. I've vowed many times to quit smoking -one which usually was broken by noon on New Year's Day. (Probably earlier than that if it was back in the time when I used to go out and party New Year's Eve cause ya know, a cigarette and coffee are necessities when trying to recuperate from a hangover. Thankfully, I don't indulge in the alcoholic refreshments these days. Not to say I don't have a beer or mixed drink every now and again, but it is not something that is a mandatory part of my life now.

There have been times I told myself I would strive to be neater - a better housekeeper. But that too was usually a pretty short-lived resolution in my life. I have resolved however that the only way my house is ever going to be neat, tidy, spotless all the time is after I win the lottery and can afford a full-time, live in maid - or several of 'em perhaps because with six people in the house, for one maid to be keeping up with cleaning up after that many folks, she's be pretty well exhausted within the first two days. My house definitely has the "lived in" appearance all the time - especially with all the floor decorations Maya likes to add to the mix. I can hardly wait now to see what the place will look like once Kurtis is always out and about in the house too. Gonna be a whole lot of toys for me and anyone else to trip over, for sure. Actually, a solution to that problem would be if (here again, after I win the lottery) we built on a room strictly for the kids and their toys where they could strew them all over the place and then, let them be the ones in there to trip over them - not me! Sounds like a good game plan to me ya know!

I've said on numerous occasions too that I was going to watch my weight, go on a diet - get slim and trim. I don't think I ever made a resolution that involved exercise though. That part of getting slim and trim involves too much pain in my book so I've always steered very clear of that baby! And, judging by the size of the clothes I wear now, the numbers on the scale that keep moving in an upward manner, apparently the diet resolutions were all broken by at least 6 p.m. on New Year's Day.

When my kids were younger, I always would list on my resolutions that I was going to be more patient with them. Well, that's one resolution that sort of has come to pass although it took a goodly number of years and the addition of three grandchildren in my life before I finally began to learn a little bit of patience. And, since I didn't consciously set out to develop more patience when I finally began to acquire it, it sure as heck can't ever count as a resolution I held to can it?

Other things I made resolutions about - getting a better job was one. Well, on that one, I did often try to follow through on that however, doing that also takes a little cooperation from a potential employer that they have a job opening I was qualified to apply for and that they decided my resume showed them enough to warrant at least an interview My good fortune in the job hunting arena could be viewed as one good reason NOT to make resolutions because they are too doggone depressing when you realize you don't have enough control to get things to work out all the time. Well, at least from my point of view that's the way it seemed to work.

I was going to save money too but I forgot, in order to save money you have to have enough to meet your expenses to begin with - a factor that wasn't always present each and every month. I was going to clip coupons too - become the "coupon queen" but I think that only lasted maybe a week at most before I forgot about that idea too.

So now, I make no resolutions as I never either remember them or if I do, I decide early on it was a rash decision to put that item on my resolution list so out the door it goes.

I tell myself now that there are things I am going to try to do but I don't make it a hard, fast rule that I WILL do this. This way, it's sort of like making a resolution but gives me the much needed leeway to change directions in mid-stream too without feeling like a quitter or a failure. I definitely don't need anything more in my life that screams at me that I didn't follow through at all or enough. Then, this way, if I do get a little bit of one of my ideas that I say I'm gonna try to work on accomplished or started and then postponed for a while, I'm happy that I got that much done!

Just a little bit of mental trickery there I suppose.

How about you? Do you make and keep New Year's Resolutions or are yours like mine - a bit of the fly by night variety? Come on and 'fess up. Inquiring minds really do want to know!