It’s that time of year again. Have you made your list of all the ways you’re going to make yourself, and your life, better?

As the year comes to a close, I find myself with the typical resolutions and yes, many are repeats:

• Eat Healthier
• Exercise More
• Save Money

Look familiar? The truth is we should ALL do ALL of these things ALL of the time. So every January we commit to looking better, feeling better, being better. Then February 1 rolls around and many of us find ourselves with unused gym memberships, junk food back in the pantry, and less money than we’d like in the bank.

This year I resolved to make just one goal but I wanted it to be big. It needed to be life-changing and I needed to commit 100%. It’s pretty much the most important resolution I’ve ever made.

Learning to play the guitar was a fine goal at 20, seeing Paris was fun AND educational at 30, but I’m almost 40 now and the mother of two young girls (18 months and 5 years old). Gone are the carefree days when I could worry about learning new skills or traveling. With age has come more responsibility, more pressure, more general life chaos and with chaos comes stress. With stress comes frustration and then yelling.

I don’t want to be that mom. The mom who gets mad, the mom who yells. So my life-changing resolution for the coming year is deceptively simple…

SLOW DOWN.

 Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.It turns out that Ferris was right. The key to happiness is to take a time out from the rat race every once in a while and just enjoy what’s around you.

Harder Than It Looks

Most of you reading this will relate when I say it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do. I often find myself frustrated with my children and if I’m honest I’ll admit that my 5-year-old bears the brunt of that frustration. As a WAHM (Work at Home Mom) the distinction between home life and work life is non-existent. I am pulled in every direction and often feel I’m failing as both a mom and business owner.

We are late to everything. It takes HOURS to get ready to go anywhere, and whatever we are trying to do: shop at the store, go for a walk, pick out clothes for the day, insert any activity here, my daughter turns it into THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION SHE’S EVER MADE. Then we are even later and I get more frustrated. It’s a vicious cycle and no matter how self-aware I am about it, I still find myself caught up in it.

What Matters Most

Yet when I take the time to think about my favorite moments from the past year they are the quietest and slowest moments of our life. Going for a walk in our neighborhood and stopping to lay on the lawn and watch clouds. Staying in bed late on a Saturday morning and playing under the covers.  A late afternoon nap with a toddler resting on my chest. Watching the girls make a rocket ship out of a box the Christmas presents were delivered in. We have the most fun and are happiest when we are not in a hurry.

So I resolve to be more like Ferris this year. I’m going to play hooky more often. I’m going to do a little less Facebook and a get little more face time. If you call and I don’t answer I’m probably busy watching clouds. I’ll call you back tomorrow.

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