Roses & Resolutions

First for the roses. Congrats to the Michigan State University football team and their win against Stanford in the 100th Rose Bowl! 

I'm not a diehard football fan and I tend to only, truly watch the Superbowl. I'm glad I tuned in to this game though. It was a great game to watch. We made it our New Year's celebration with lots of finger foods and dinner around the T.V. The guys donned their MSU gear and we kept a close eye on our sofa. A great time was had by all!

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Now for the resolutions part of the post. I should say resolution, singular. One, big resolution.

At least, it's big for me. Ready?

I resolve to use pencil when writing in my planner, making schedules, and filling out to-do lists.

I have recently(ish) discovered that my to-do lists, my schedules and plans, my time organized by me alone, has become my idol. I have half-heartedly acknowledged to myself that this should not be and, as a result have been given the opportunity to see myself from an angle that is not very flattering.

I get upset, disturbed, frustrated when my plans, routine, vague-idea-how-the-day-will-go gets thrown off by... anything. A snow day, my husband deciding to take the day off, sickness, an invitation to lunch. You get the idea. 

So, I decided that I need to do something. And, since a new year, and therefore a new planner, was quickly approaching, I saw a tangible way to help myself make some necessary changes.

The biggest change...use a pencil! I always used a pen and could not stand it when my plans had to be altered. I would often tear out the page and start fresh. Repeatedly, if necessary. It took a while but I finally had an epiphany: use pencil.

Using a pencil is not, I realize, the only change I have to make. I also resolve to try and not fall to pieces when my day goes in a different direction. I resolve to apologize when I do fall apart. I resolve to be more realistic in my planning, giving priority to the must-do's only.

Order and routine are necessary and important. But so are the abilities to adjust and adapt. 

Snow days and surprise lunch dates deserve different reactions than stomach bugs and power outages. (Or so I've been told.)