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I am not an habitual maker of new year’s resolutions. Some years I earnestly record the usual suspects (eat less, exercise more, be nicer) in my journal but by the time it’s January 5th, it’s too cold to go to the gym; I’ve forced another pound bag of candy down my throat and realized it’s pretty hard to be nice. But for the last several months there has been a discernible pattern to my information intake and my musings on the kind of life I’d like to live. I’m hardly unique for contemplating being more environmentally friendly; less consumeristic. Books like Omnivore’s Dilemma and blogs like ‘No Impact Man’ and ‘Soulemama’ have all resonated with me. And, indeed, one cannot read a newspaper, book, or blog without coming across some mention of carbon footprints, recycling, supporting local businesses, eating organically, etc. Even my beloved ‘Celebrity Babies Blog’ highlights organic baby food, clothes and eco-friendly furniture. It is the hot topic du jour, that’s for sure. So, inspired by the creative examples of others, and eager to be more thoughtful and intentional with my own life, I’ve devised some challenges/resolutions for myself for 2008. I will not pretend that they are the product of much logic or deep reasoning, nor will I pretend they will generate the biggest bang for the proverbial buck with respect to my previously stated intentions. So, with caveat in place, here is my shortlist:
Exercise More
If the words ’spongy’ or ‘doughy’ are the first words that come to mind when asked to describe one’s physique, it’s time to go to the gym. Vanity aside, it’s bad when one is completely winded after pulling one’s preschooler on the sled….around the snow covered block. Even worse when one is deathly sore for three days afterward. Exercise I must, whether walking around the neighborhood or channeling my inner lab rat at the gym. And, really, as my spouse so helpfully pointed out – if I make it to the gym a handful of times in 2008 I will easily exceed my record of 2007.
Goodbye Starbucks
For the past ten years, I’ve been a staunch supporter of the overpriced coffee industry. We moved to Minneapolis in 1998, and I fell in love with ‘coffee breaks’ at Dunn Bros, Caribou, Starbucks, even the U of M’s Java something or other. And then in Berlin, at Coffee Mamas, Einstein’s and Starbucks. And then in London at Cafe Nero, Monmouth Coffee, Pret, or Starbucks. If pressed to estimate, I’d say I’ve probably enjoyed the equivalent of a latte and a half per week over the course of the last ten years. (At roughly $3 a pop, that would be about $2340 I’ve spent on coffee drinks!) Anyway. It dawned on me several weeks ago that I don’t even enjoy lattes all that much anymore. Instead of a treat, it is now a habit. Instead of a delicious beverage with thick white foam and strong espresso, it is usually a grey milky drink that tastes suspiciously like cardboard and cigarettes. And instead of enjoying a latte while talking with friends, I typically drink it in my car.So, I’m committing to starting off the year and avoiding the McDonald’s of coffee altogether. Coincidentally, my brother in law gave me a little Bodum milk frother gadget for Christmas. I shall make faux lattes at home or, on occasion, purchase a latte from a local coffee shop, provided I am there with someone else and not just hopping in my car on the way to the mall.
Buy no more
Earth-shattering realization: It has dawned on me that I purchase things I do not actually need. The pile of black sweaters in my drawer confirm this suspicion. As do the receipts from my Target and TJ Maxx sprees. So, I’m going to do something un-original but crazy and ban myself from purchasing anything* in 2008. (*Anything beyond food, household supplies, and medical necessities.) It basically means I will have to avoid places and websites like Macy’s, The Gap, Old Navy, Target, TJ Maxx, Amazon, Border’s, Zappos. It also means I will not get to participate in my beloved winter and summer clearance sales. If nothing else, this will be excellent blog material.And with less than 4 hours to go before midnight, I’d better order that Ben Woolman CD a.s.a.p.
Community
It follows that, with my self-imposed bans on spending, I should have a little bit of extra cash and time on hand in 2008. Time and money to invest in my local community and my world-wide community. As the requests for cash streamed in at the end of the year from food banks and other service organizations, it dawned on me that I don’t currently give any of my money or time to such organizations. I’d like to change that for several reasons: I feel that it is important to share whatever resources I have; I want to avoid that feeling of living in a work-family-church bubble – no time for anything else and no clue what is going on anywhere else; I want to support causes I care about and I want my kids to care about people besides themselves.
I’m excited for this year. Of course, G just spilled paint on my ‘good’ jeans. 364 more days until I can get a new pair.
Do you ever imagine God sitting up in heaven, peeking down at various people and countries and, when he comes across America, shaking his head in disappointment tinged with a little bit of disgust?
That’s what I imagined a few days ago. While driving around town, I noticed an SUV turning right. This particular SUV was decorated for the ‘holidays’. By decorated, I mean it had a fake antler attached to each of the front windows and a bright, red, round nose on the grille. Apparently the SUV was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Now I don’t consider myself an overly bah-humbug kind of person. In fact, when people used to drive around with small wreaths attached to their SUV grilles, I thought it was kind of cute. But really, antlers? And a nose? On a car?
It was one of those moments where I tried to picture poorest Africa. Admittedly, it’s a picture based largely on what I’ve seen on television since I’m more familiar with privileged Africa. But it’s a little pseudo experiment I like to impose on myself when I come upon behavior I consider ridiculous, garish, or simply de trop.
Anyway, I imagined dirt roads, mud huts, little children walking in threadbare clothes and mangy dogs running amuck. Then, I pictured that shiny SUV decorated with antlers and a bright red nose plowing past the village, leaving behind clouds of dust in its path.
It’s a little gross, isn’t it?
Obviously this SUV was driving on an asphalt road in a land of relatively plenty. But I wonder if we can find nothing more worthwhile to spend our money on than a couple of antlers and a red nose….. for our CARS?
For me, this little bit of holiday spirit was a ‘gross’ moment….one I experience periodically when excess stares me in the face (my own or that of others). But this time, rather than just enjoy a good rant about ‘other people’s’ consumerism and materialism, I decided to make a few changes in my own life with respect to buying, spending and giving.
Stay tuned.
I was talking to an eight months pregnant woman following my son’s recent preschool winter program (a blog entry in and of itself). ‘Any tips?’ She asked, referring to the transition from one child to two. Hesitantly, ineloquently, realizing that our experiences will likely be very different, I said ‘the first three weeks are really rough, but after that it gets better.’ Unconvinced, she countered, ‘My daughter is really excited about the baby.’ I just nodded, the way I nod when a woman with a two-day old child tells me: ‘I think this baby is really mellow. He/She just sleeps and eats and doesn’t cry at all.’
I couldn’t possibly have known on August 27th what a crazy three-plus-months lay ahead of me. Naively, perhaps, I rode to the hospital the following day imagining a new baby boy, a hefty dose of sibling jealousy/rivalry and a few weeks of sleep deprivation in my future.
I was right about the new baby boy.
As it turned out, my preschooler unleashed his frustration over his changing circumstances on everyone and everything BUT the baby. Good….for the baby, but bad for me, my husband, family members etc. My ears are still ringing from the tantrums of those first few weeks.
The ‘few weeks’ of sleep deprivation turned into 14 weeks of waking up at least every two hours on a nightly basis. Instead of a welcome respite from a chaotic day, sleep has become a form of torture. Were it not for my inability to form coherent sentences and my readiness to fall asleep at 3pm, I would try to avoid it altogether. I give the evil eye to any mom who happily tells me that her baby sleeps 8 to 12 hours a night. Perhaps I just need to do x, y or z and my baby, too, would sleep through the night. To be fair, I may have been a teensy bit smug myself three years ago when my firstborn was sleeping through the night and my exhausted friends bemoaned their fates. Having seen both sides of the proverbial coin, I will testify that some kids sleep better than others. Period.
Basically, I would liken the past three months to: training to run a 5K and showing up on race day only to be told to swim 26 miles. Being in good shape coupled with race-day adrenaline only get you so far….after a while you wish someone could haul you out of the pool and throw you down on the warm concrete until such time as your weary limbs can coerce themselves into motion again.
I can honestly say life feels better as we settle into our fourth month as a family of four. Fellow preschool mom, beware.
Hope you can swim.
