New Year's resolutions

I know that a lot of people think that New Year's resolutions are bunk, but I am a firm believer in setting goals for myself for new things to try, learn, and new ways to grow. I may not be able to accomplish ALL of my New Year's resolutions, but at least they lay the foundation for what direction I want to take in the new year.

So yesterday, I sat down with the children and we all worked on our resolutions. Well, Jennifer and I did, anyway. Jesse just colored on paper, though at age 2 I'd imagine one resolution he could make for the new year would be to learn new words. Or new signs!

I divided my new year's resolutions into 3 categories: Money, personal growth, and family. (I did the same thing with my writing resolutions. Check them out here.)

For money, I wrote, "Fix my credit." I kept putting this off last year, but NOW is the time to get it done! Especially since we really, really, really want to have our own house. That won't happen if there's any bad credit between both partners. So at least by fixing my credit, I am taking a step towards making that dream a reality.

For personal growth, one resolution I have is "learn how to swim." This is ANOTHER personal goal I kept putting off. I'd always chicken out. THIS year, I will do it! I will learn how to swim. And so will the kids. Yay!

And, finally, for family, one resolution I have is "make sign language a bigger part of the family." We do use sign language, but not as often as we should. Using sign language more will help the kids remember the signs better. I have that whole "you live in a hearing world and can't use sign language" philosophy my parents hammered into my head after I became deaf. They were anti-sign language. None of that in MY house! We will embrace sign language and use it more often. One deaf person I know once commented how sign language "is such a beautiful language." I have to agree.

I read over Jen's resolutions and thought most of them were pretty good. One resolution I thought was cute was "have my picture taken with Jesse." Well, that happens often enough around here! She's crazy about her little brother. Another resolution she had was "read two books every two weeks." I approve.

Whether or not I meet all of my goals for 2010, at least I still have some idea of the changes I want to make. Change is definitely in the wind. I'm a little nervous, because it means stepping out of my comfort zone, but I know these changes must happen and in order to make that happen, there needs to be some stepping out of that zone! Nicolas Cage once commented that "anything worth doing is going to make you feel a little uncomfortable.' There are things I want to do in 2010 that will make me feel a little uncomfortable (like learning how to swim, but also changing my look and sticking to a workout routine), but I know they are things worth doing. Accomplishing those goals will move me, and even the children, forward to having a better life.