I don't really make resolutions.
I think about them. I think I probably should make some resolutions (and keep them). But in the end I think "eh - what's so different about tomorrow?" and decide that if there's something I need to change or work on, the date I begin isn't really that important.
Maybe that means I'm resolving things all the time, I don't know. Or I'm completely unresolved. That's also entirely possible likely.
On Christmas morning my stocking was empty. So there we are, the kids and Jon tipping things out of their stockings, and Bel patting them all to make sure they didn't miss anything. She turned and looked at me and said, "mom, why don't YOU have anything in your stocking???" From my spot on the couch surrounded by presents, I shrugged and said "I guess no one put anything in my stocking." She thought about that, and a half hour later told me my stocking was empty because I yelled. (resolution #1: don't yell)
And then she kept bringing it up, over and over, through the following week. "Mom didn't have any chocolate in her stocking," she would say with all due gravitas. Or "mom, why was your stocking empty?" with big concerned eyes. One night at dinner I decided I was tired of trying to defend myself for a flat sock (no, I wasn't bad, I didn't do anything wrong) and said "Jon, would you like to explain why I didn't have anything in my stocking?"
And Jon cleared his throat and said "Annabel, mommy didn't have anything in her stocking because I forgot to get stocking stuffers." (resolution #2: buy myself some awesome stocking stuffers)
By then, though, it was too late. She knew what she knew! She'd seen all the evidence and formed her own conclusion. She listened to him with polite disbelief and went on about her business, looking at me with pity every once in awhile when passing the chimney a la stockings. I was not good enough for stocking stuffers this year.
So I was kind of relieved yesterday to pack Christmas away. The kids helped me wrap ornaments in tissue and tuck them into boxes. Otto took charge of the lights - he turned them off, unplugged everything, then carefully unscrewed the bubble lights before unstringing the regular lights from the tree. He even found the plastic rack the bubble lights snap into and put them away one by one before we sorted things into the storage bins. The whole time he cheerfully hummed Deck the Halls.
Anyway. So then Bel wanted to know what the NEXT holiday is. "Valentine's Day!" I said brightly. "And you know what people sometimes give each other on Valentine's Day? Chocolate!" And then I told her she could help her dad shop for me for Valentine's Day to make up for the stocking... thing.
Needless to say, she's ready and willing to take on that task. I'm pretty sure I'm golden now where Valentine's Day is concerned, as long as I keep resolution #1.
And if not, there's always resolution #2 as a backup.
