Many of us make resolutions for the new year, myself included. I try not to make them too unreasonable or unattainable. For example, I will never be a size 6, abstain from sugar for 6 months, or declutter my entire house. That’s a FACT. The older I get, the more realistic I have become I guess. Goals are important, and I know I will have triumphs this year. I also know I will have some failures. I hope you will too. Yes, I said it. I hope you fail at some things this year, and here’s why…
I read a quote recently that was an “aha” moment for me:
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” – Neil Gaiman
As moms we are constantly making mistakes, aren’t we? I don’t know about you, but I also tend to be good at pointing them out and beating myself up over them. For some reason it seems to be ingrained in women that “failing” is always a bad thing. I hope we can be more gentle with ourselves as moms and women and embrace those mistakes as learning opportunities. A refiner’s fire if you will. Make a resolution this year to make some mistakes, and to be ok with it.
It’s ok to have a horrible day, to burn the cookies, to snap at your kids when you’re PMSing, to be late to an appointment, and to spill macaroni and cheese all over the floor, and here’s why – our kids need to know it’s ok to fail too. We should always encourage our children not to burn the cookies, yell, not to be late, and to be tidy, but they need to see that when they make mistakes the world isn’t going to fall apart. They need to know how to forgive themselves and laugh it off. I hope I can teach my kids that making mistakes is part of being productive, of creating, of moving forward, of doing.
So, my resolution this year is to fail at some things, because being a mom is the hardest job in the world! We aren’t meant to be perfect role models, just loving role models with a few imperfections. If my kids are alive and happy at the end of a hard day then I have done my job. Sometimes, the dishes can wait, the gym (most days) will have to wait, and we might order in pizza more than we should. It’s reality, and it’s ok. Mothers aren’t meant to be perfect no matter what Pinterest tells us!
I do plan on losing a few pounds this year, being less distracted, saving up for some family trips, and reading more. I hope your year is full of good goals, love, memories, time with family and being kind to yourself. I hope in the midst of it all we make some mistakes, and in the process remember we are doing our very best, we’re growing, we’re progressing, and that we are doing the most important work in the world! Happy New Year!
