Let’s Call Them “Intentions”

Its a popular topic of conversation these days, yet I feel like a solid 85% of people hate the conversation and roll their eyes over it. New Years resolutions. I’m also an eye-roller in this case, because I think you can set a goal anytime, and who cares what day in what month it is? But, its not unnatural for people to be thinking “fresh start” in the beginning of a new year. So let’s talk about it.

I looked back on my resolutions last year, and let’s be real. I tanked it hard in 2017. I declared a few small resolutions on January 10th, and six days later, I found out our baby had died. It was a rough start, and the year really never got easier. Not to say you can’t strive for greatness in the midst of trials, because you can. But its stinking HARD!! So not that it cannot be done, but I did not succeed with my goals.

I watched a new years video on YouTube, and the couple kept referring to their New Years “intentions.” I like that SO much better!! Its just a different word, but its much more my speed. “Hopes” might be that much more accurate, but I’m going with intentions for now, because I think a BIG chunk of being successful is being intentional! These are all things I naturally want to do this year, nothing that I’m really forcing, but still. My intentions.

My first intention is very practical. We have not done a weekly savings plan the last two years. For those that don’t know, for a while, I saved a certain amount of money in a jar each week with the goal to have between $1000-$1500 by November 1. I paid for ALL of Christmas out of that money. December tends to be a month where many feel extra broke, and it was always such a relief to just have Christmas paid for in advance! This year, we intend to implement this plan again! We’re going to change it from the traditional online “weekly savings plan” and instead, put aside a flat $30 per week. There are 44 weeks from now to the first days of November, and we’ll have over $1300. That will take care of Christmas gifts for ourselves, our widespread family, and friends, special food, any new decor, family activities, etc. I’m stoked to get back on this plan 🙂

Another thing I intend to do is improve my blog game. Sometimes I dream bigger for this whole thing. Not too big, but a bit bigger. Its a lot to hash out, and I won’t do it here now. But I want to be more intentional (see??) about my posts. I already have some help with this for the first half of the year, because I have my series that I hope very much to continue writing into July, so there’s some structure there beyond just what we did that day. Not that there’s anything wrong with that either! But sometimes its good to have a specific topic to talk about that isn’t mundane. I’m thinking, if I keep a series going, and maybe have another weekday planned more specifically, even that alone would help! Just some planning, and putting a bit more thought into what I have to say that day. I’m feeling like Mondays and Fridays would be great days to post planned, most intentional posts. And hopefully, that just gets more natural the more I do it, and they will all start to improve a little! I hope so!

Lastly, I hope to stay a tad bit more organized and less frantic with busyness. This one branches out in a lot of different directions. I think part of what makes busyness difficult for me is my anxiety and the fact that my brain is ALWAYS rushing. A totally regular home day over here is still busy. I love our busyness. Thats just how our life is, but sometimes, with that, I find extras overwhelming. I don’t in any way plan to overdo it, or push myself too far the other way, but I need to be able to roll with the punches a little bit better and smoother. I FINALLY found a way to organize my days in the form of a planner!! You guys know how long I’ve been in search of the PERFECT planner, and I finally have it. Don’t laugh. I literally run my days out of an appointment book. My days are broken out in 15 minute increments. It keeps me sane and alive, and I’m hoping that, with a working system like that, I should be able to handle a little bit more and accomplish a little bit more.

You can very likely see through this post that my intentions aren’t deep and personal. Those goals do exist, but they’re my “always” goals, not my new years goals. And frankly, if you know me, you know them. I hope to manage my anxiety better this year. I hope to be more hospitable and helpful to people this year. I hope to smile more and yell less. Yada yada yada. You know the drill. I desire to be better, but that doesn’t ever stop.

I really hope to bring a baby home this year, in July. I can’t resolve that I will, or even say I “intend” to. But I hope to, so so much.