I always have such grand ideas for the start of the New Year — I’m going to take 365 pictures, I’m going to finally join a gym and exercise, I’m going to be more patient, etc., and by January 11th I am about ready to lose my mind because I haven’t been able to hold myself to those lofty goals I set myself up to fail. 2017 snuck up on me somehow and before I knew, it was already several days in and I panicked momentarily that I hadn’t set my impossible to obtain goals and that the year was going to be a disaster because I hadn’t tried to start it off with a flourish. And then I decided to try to set up some realistic goals that I could actually achieve. So without much ado, here are my 2017 Resolutions.

Fun – When I started thinking about how I wanted to start this year, the word fun was the one that keep popping back up in my mind. Fun. This year I think above all else I want to make our lives more fun. I want to  laugh more, I want to have dance parties with my children singing Frozen off key, I want to make tent forts and have a sleepover under Christmas lights, I want to have more fun with my children and make those memories that build a childhood. I want to try to do something fun at least once a week baking cookies to snuggling on the couch watching movies to tickle fights before bed. I want it to be seemlessly woven into our daily routine that when my kids look back at their childhoods singular moments don’t stand out as much as the running theme of fun; we had fun together as a family always.

Activism – The November election woke something inside me. I am fairly political on a normal basis, but this election cycle took it to a new level and I realized that this was something that I could never stop being passionate about. After the election results came in, I realized the price of freedom is constant vigilance and since then I have been working more toward the causes I hold most dear to myself. I have actively started attending local political organizations and meetings, taking the kids along to a few, and I found a local group that directly helps some of the more persecuted demographics in this new political climate and have been volunteering my time there as well. More than for myselr my goal is to raise my children with an awareness of these values and hopes I hold for them and the world. Hopefully I teach them through example and one day will take on this mantle and keep pushing forward.

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Memories – A while back on Pinterest I saw this wonderful idea of having an empty jar that you fill with all the good moments in your life so that at the end of the year you can look back at all the good things that happened in a year. I like this idea a lot and hope that we can do this and that it can even become a tradition.

Books – I miss reading a lot but right now with my life I simply do not have the time or mental capacity to absorb reading the way I used to. I do, however, read to my children every night and usually several times during the day as well. I am so happy that all three of my kids seem to love books and stories as much as I do and I hope to continue to cultivate this love as they grow so they will be readers for life. I have been leaving little riddles in Drake’s lunch box since the beginning of the school year having been inspired by another friend’s amazing post-it note artwork she sends her daughter (she even made a little blurb book of all the notes). I noticed that her notes usually had a book character saying something to her daughter and I loved that idea so much. I have decided this year I want to introduce 100 new books/characters (plan on sharing that list in another post) to Drake so that come next September I can try to crudely draw on post its for him and share some character fun with him when he is away at school.

Photography – My love for photography ebbs and flows like the tide but I always return to it in the end. I have long given up the idea of trying to do a 365 as I never can seem to make that happen, so this year my hope is simply to take 365 photos I love, photos that tug at my heart, remind me why I love photography, and make me proud when I see them. They can be multiples from a series and they can be taken sporadically throughout the year. I want freedom to shoot when and how I want so I don’t give up under the pressure of trying to make everyday photo perfect. I am hoping to be able to assemble this year’s photos I love in a book/portfolio so I can look back and see the progress I have made in a concrete way.

Kindness – Lastly I want to spread more kindness around, a spin off of my 35 random acts of kindness idea that was borne from my 35th birthday. I want to find a way just to spread more kindnesses all around in my family, in my community, and just in general. I’m hoping to do some more random acts of kindness as well as trying to be more careful with my words when speaking to Mr. Chocolate and my children, and reaching out to my loved ones more to let them know they can always rely on me if they need to.

I feel like this is a much more doable list than my past years and I hope that on New Years Eve 2017 Ill feel like I did complete my resolutions for this year.