Happy Happy FriYAY!!! Today I'm finally sharing a few goals I've set for myself for the year. I've had success and failure (as I'm sure is totally normal) in past years with goals I've set. I don't like the word "resolution", it sounds too demanding. Goals sound more realistic, more attainable. More room for grace and error.
So in December when I started thinking about things I wanted to do this year or change, one word kept recurring for EVERY single line I came up with. Like a brick between the eyes, it had to be my "word of the year".
For 2018 I want to...
|Be BETTER with organization.|
Y'all. I did ok the first 6 months of last year and then downhill it went. I got SO far behind in all the paperwork we keep organized for tax season. It's a nightmare. Like I will need an all-day babysitter one Saturday between now and April 15th to get this stuff in order. Not just that but closets are mess, drawers are a mess, cabinets a catastrophe. Our house isn't large and there's clutter to be found in all corners these days. It's time to tackle it all and get our lives BETTER organized.
|Be BETTER with home management.|
This certainly goes along with the above goal. I actually got a little bit of a headstart on this one in December and started a new bill paying schedule that will hopefully help us out. Grocery shopping and meal planning fit right into this as well. Again, it was something I kicked butt in for the first half of last year and then it was like, groceries? What? We need those things?? I mean there were weeks I was stopping at a grocery store probably 4 times a week to pickup stuff we needed.
|Be a BETTER wife.|
Getting super personal on this one. Prep yourselves. A good friend of ours told us long before we had the girls that their first year of marriage as parents was the hardest. She was right. 2017 was a HARD year as a Mr and Mrs. Learning to be parents, sleep deprivation, sudden changes in jobs, financial issues, selfish decisions...all played HUGE roles in our not so stellar year. There were ALOT of tears, alot of arguments, alot of closed minds, alot of walking out, ugly words were exchanged, feelings were hurt...it was hard. We're trying very hard to be better communicators and to give more grace to each other. Stephen will tell you he's not easy to be married too; but neither am I at times. We love being parents, but in that new role, our titles of husband and wife have suffered. I cannot tell you the last time he and I went on a date. I also cannot tell you how important that is to carve out time together. I say that now, because I see the damage it can do. This year, we're aiming for at least once a month to devote to a date day or date night. I'm also determined to spend more time together at night after the girls' go to bed. There are nights they're down by 7pm. Laundry can wait. Odd jobs around the house can wait, I need to sit down with my husband...watch a show, play a card game, just talk...whatever. Realistically, it's not going to happen every night, but just to do it a few times would mean so much to us both!
|Be BETTER to me.|
Some days are nothing but pure survival mode. I don't feel like I've let myself go, but I do feel like I've lost part of myself. I want to make some time here and there for just me. To refresh and renew...to take a deep breath and be still.
|Be BETTER with time management.|
Birthdays, Christmas and other spending events occur every year. They shouldn't sneak up on me. I want SO bad to buy ahead of time little by little so that we're not faced with all the extra Christmas shopping spending expenses in one month. I've already started on this one too. I snatched up a couple gifts during after Christmas sales that will be great for some 1st birthday parties we'll have for family & friends coming up this year. I also jumped on a big Zulily sale the day after Christmas and ordered the girls' Easter dresses. Small things like this...just to take care of them in advance and get rid of the last minute rush.
That's it friends!! I hope your new year is off to a great start! Enjoy the weekend; we're expecting some snow! Better head to town and buy all the milk and bread. It's the TN thing to do when the forecast calls for snow!!
Oh girl, that first year as a momma is HARD and you did it with 2! all the praise hands to you! I remember Ben and I going through the exact SAMETHING! I was to exhausted to be a mom then a wife! But I remember my sister looking at me one day and saying "you were a wife first, don't forget that" It really helped me to shift my focus back on Ben. That's how our "deck date nights" happened! HA
ReplyDeleteYou got this girl! Love from Georgia!
Love these! I remember going to a marriage conference Scott thought we should attend with a 5 month old Lucy and all these couples I felt were practically making out around us and we were a foot apart. Balancing it all with an infant is hard. I remember looking at him after those first years with our kids and saying, why people thinking having a baby to save a marriage is beyond me. It's all worth it and you are right, it's the little things we do day in and day out to show love to our spouses that makes all the difference. xoxo ERIN
ReplyDeleteLove this, Erica!!! I love how you took your word and applied it to different aspects of your life. I definitely know I could be better in some areas, too. Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteSarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts
I have 3 girlfriends who have no boyfriend/spouse and no kids and when they tell me they are tired, I just roll my eyes. In my head, I find myself saying "girlfriend, you don't know tired!".
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