A friend of mine recently lent me a copy of a book called "Change It Up". It has been incredibly fascinating to me because our little family is in a season of change. New places, new friends, new routines.
New roles.
It's enabled me to think openly about the changes that I want to implement in my life, and what better time than the present?
Considering I've been a working mom for the past four and a half years, I've found that there are a few things to which I've become accustomed, for better or worse. So, in this season of change, I wanted to make some goals as a newly minted stay-at-home mom (SAHM).
1) I want to develop better patience. With myself, with friends around me, and most importantly with my family. Experiences helping take care of Laura's little ones made me realize that life is too short to not treat your family as though they are the VIPs of your life, because guess what... they are, and I want them to know that.
2) I want to be a better listener. As an extrovert, this has not always been the most natural quality for me, but daily I am recognizing the need to simply listen. I want to listen to others and truly help them be heard, especially Ryan and Adi.
3) I want to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. During the month and a half in which Ryan and I have been away from each other, I have become more and more grateful for a wonderful, loving, patient, and talented husband. I knew he was a keeper to begin with, but being apart offers new perspective. In conversations we've had while we've been apart, Ryan has made observations here and there that remind me of how truly blessed we are as Americans and as members of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). As such we have a great responsibility to the world and I believe it starts with gratitude.
4) I want to be more optimistic and positive. My best friend, Adriel, and I recently had a conversation in which she corrected me when I compared degrees of child development; to be honest I was a little embarrassed, she was right. She had focused on the positive while I had focused on the negative. She really helped me see that looking at the glass half full changed the attitude and tone. So I want to replace focusing on negatives to a habit of focusing on the positive (for example, when seeing a woman treat another woman rudely on the plane this morning I could say, to myself, "I really love it when people are kind and understanding", instead of saying, "I hate rude people."). Some of the words I would like to use more are words such as love, like, can, will, should, right, good, doable, prefer... I'm sure the list will continue to grow.
5) I want to institute some kind of routine. I am flexible, spontaneous, and random, and want to continue being so; and I am confident a routine will help balance our med-school life. A routine will also help us see more of each other, build our testimonies, stay healthy, and learn more--I'm actually really looking forward to it.
6) I want to get up, get ready, get going, and get out every morning. I am a social being and both Adi and I thrive with social interactions. We may have to instigate these interactions, and may have to adapt, but we'll both benefit from jump starting our days with a shower and planned activity.
7) I want to develop new talents. At any age, learning something new is an adventure, and I'm excited that my new role allows me to do so. I want to learn to swim (better), snorkel, and to surf. I want to get scuba certified. I want to develop my photography abilities and jump start my consulting firm. I want to grow a garden and meal plan. It's never too late for any of these.
I'm sure these goals will evolve over time and that I will come up with new goals as time moves forward, but I wanted to be ready to embrace change and meet it with a smile.
So, let's change it up already!
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