Yes, I’m thinking about resolutions. Maybe not the New Year’s kind, at least not quite yet – but soon! This is after a particularly awful day last week. We went to a new swimming class that was a little bit overwhelming, since the class went into the deep end. At church, my daughter is going through some separation anxiety, and she was sad in her Sunday School class. It must be the time of year: I found myself resolving to do better. A lot better. What are my resolutions?
Be willing to be present with my daughter through her separation fears. Right now she is going through a lot of anxiety about sleeping and being separated from me, and I need to have the patience to work through this with her.
Get more sleep so that I am not so cranky. I’m fine with about 7 hours, prefer 8, and when my daughter is afraid of the dark and waking a lot at night I don’t get that.
Exercise consistently with my daughter. I trained for a marathon in 2008, and this really stuck with her. She sat in the jogging stroller and I ran. Sometimes she ran too. This year was going to be the year of the trail-a-bike, since I am trying to train for a triathlon. However, without a fixed exercise goal I’ve lost motivation. I’d like to keep it up, both for me and to set an example for my preschooler.
Play music at least once a week with my daughter. My husband and I met in a community band, and I vowed that I would continue to play my instrument after I had my daughter. It hasn’t happened. However, my daughter loves music and I would like to play more of it with her. I believe in sharing my loves with my child, but it means that I need to slow down and enjoy those loves myself.
Carefully balance my daughter’s activities going into her kindergarten year. I know that school will be busy for her, so I would like her to do no more than one extracurricular activity. However, I know that will be tough!
What are your parenting plans for the New Year?
