As a busy, working mom of three, I gave up on “perfection” ages ago. After dropping party favor bags on beautifully frosted birthday cakes and showing up at work with teething cookie handprints on my butt, I just realized, at some point, that seeming like my life was “together” and in control just wasn’t in the cards for me.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t aspire for better things in 2013. Here are my realistic, if not terribly ambitious, resolutions for the new year:
1. Steal from my kids’ plates–less often. If I never ate scraps of uneaten grilled cheese or half-eaten waffles, I probably would not need to wear Spanx. Which would be nice. While I can’t say I’ll never again taste the buttery crust of a kid’s meal again…I do aspire to nosh on them less frequently.
2. Stop yelling in the morning. I wish I could say I’d never yell at my kids ever, ever again, because I think yelling is a type of discipline that rarely makes sense and is just evidence that the parent has gone a little batty.But I know I’m not perfect. So instead I’ll commit to not yelling in the morning anymore. “What, your shoes aren’t on YET?!” “What do you mean, you can’t find your homework folder??!” It’s just got to stop. I’m giving my kids checklists of what they need to get done and quiet but unpleasant consequences if they don’t do it.
3. Throw away my brown flip-flops. I’d love to say that I’m going to start dressing like someone who just completed a “What Not to Wear” makeover, but some days, I really do just feel like chilling in a pair of jeans that are a little bit too big and a t-shirt that’s a little bit too worn. But, I can probably clean up my act a little more on the weekends. Those flip-flops that are shedding metallic brown foil and have residue from a Hello Kitty sticker on one sole? Time to go.
4. Spend more time with my husband. Ideally, we’d start meeting each other at motels on our lunch breaks, have a standing Saturday night date night and stick love notes on each others’ dashboards–at least if you read the relationship advice columns in your typical woman’s magazine. The reality is, we work a good 40 miles apart, already spend a fortune on childcare during the week, and probably wouldn’t notice a dashboard missive because both of our cars are filled with dust and scraps of paper anyway. But staying up a little later in the evenings and spending more time together–that’s a great goal for 2013. (Right, sweetie?)
5. Be a proud mama. When you’re exhausted and time-strapped, sometimes it’s hard to enjoy your successes. And I’ve got three of them–beautiful, smart and devoted to me. I vow to enjoy more time with them this year, even if I am working harder than I ever did before. Sorry, kids–get ready for some sloppy mommy kisses!
Jorie is Vitacost’s creative director and the mom to three kids, ages 2 to 9. She doesn’t see her caffeine addiction going anywhere in 2013, thanks to Green Mountain Dark Magic Extra Dark Roast Coffee.