Warning: This column features some mild language.
The famous New Year’s Eve ball has fallen in New York (and in Three Rivers), and it is now January 2022. Typically this is the time where people make New Year’s resolutions and use the phrase “New year, new me.” Well, I’m here to tell you that this year I promise to be the same hot mess Steph you have come to know and love.
Making resolutions and goals for the year gives me a lot of anxiety. Will I complete the list? How will I feel if I don’t meet all of my goals? I once made a list but by the end of the year I looked over said list and realized I hadn’t met a single one. Not a single one. I felt like a failure. I wondered what I did all year long. I was determined to try again and guess what? My goal list the next year looked very similar and I once again put it to the side, and didn’t meet any of my goals.
While thinking about some realistic goals for this year I came across an old blog post that I wrote in 2014. I’ll tell you what, reading my blog posts from years ago and then reading my columns now is really comical. I was such a dork back then, and while I’m still a dork now, I’m a dork who has a better grasp on what my writing style is. So, I wanted to share with you my goal list from 2014.
My Fitness Goals for 2014
-Make it to 199lbs
-Workout once a day
-Eat Better, stick to 1500-1200 calories a day and keep logging into MyFitnessPal.
-Start running again and complete the C25K
-Run at least 1 5K (The Hot Chocolate Run in Chicago with Jen for sure)
-Feel better about myself
My Personal/Family Goals for 2014
-Get Organized
-Be a better wife and mom
-Make a Budget AND stick to it
-Work on getting out of debt
-Build a Savings
-Start a Christmas club in January so that I am not freaking out in December
-Feel better about myself
-Make at least one day a week Date Night
-Have a girls only day with Cady at least once every other week
-Be in bed by 10:30pm on weekdays, even when school is out
-Read my Bible once a day
-Try not to over-commit myself
Now, let me tell you why lists like these are unrealistic and almost impossible to complete. They put so much pressure on you to be perfect, which we all know is not possible. Being perfect is unattainable. Who really wants to be perfect anyway? Can you believe how much pressure I put on myself back then? No wonder I’ve been a crazy hot mess my whole life!
I’ll never be organized or follow a budget or start a Christmas Club in January. I wish I could stop overcommitting myself to things. I am hanging up my PTO President gavel after the school year is up (I wish I had a real gavel btw) but I’m sure I will just fill that spot with something else. Why? Because I can’t sit still long enough to relax.
I’ve been thinking about what type of goals I would make for myself this year if I was going to make any goals. I think they would look something like this:
– Keep my children alive for another year
– Cook dinner at least 3 times a week
– Go camping more (Because of course I need any excuse to hook up my camper and go)
– Only allow 18 hours of iPad or video game time a day ( lol I’m just kidding…kinda)
– Clean the house enough to not look like a Category 5 hurricane came through
– Get my shit together and stop being such a mess
So there you have it. My goals for 2022. I can’t guarantee that I will follow them or complete them or even remember them. But I will try to remember to update you on my progress at the end of this year. Who knows? Maybe I might surprise myself. But let’s be honest, I will never get my shit together.
Steph Hightree is a hot mess mom who is fueled by stress and too much caffeine. She is a Three Rivers native who talks about the good, the bad, and well, everything else about parenthood.
Any views or opinions expressed in “#MomLife” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.
