Broke-Ass Mom Resolves

I’m not sure I believe in New Year’s Resolutions.  I feel like they are just an additional way to feel bad about yourself by the end of the year.  Then you can look back and say, “Shit, I said I was going to lose how many pounds, and I’m up five?”  I think the last New Year’s Resolution I made was something that I knew I could commit to: Be more gracious when people want to take a picture of you.  It has been several years and I feel I have done the best I can to stick to it.

But now I’m a mom, and I thought maybe this year, I should make a mom-related resolution.  Here are list of things I thought I SHOULD be “resoluting”:

1. Clean the house more – but I don’t want to
2. Try to attend at least one mom’s group – but I don’t want to
3. Lose ten pounds – but what about that Cinnamon Snap Ice Cream in my fridge?
4. Run on a regular schedule and stick to it – I’ve tried, really I have
5. Eat healthier foods like my toddler – but he likes salmon and I don’t

Alternatively, I could make a list of resolutions for the Broke-Ass Mom:

1. Only buy used products for my toddler this whole year – Wow that’s hard!  Not impossible, but every now and again I see a really cute sweater for him at the Gap (I’m not proud of it, but it’s true)
2. Buy only used clothes for me – Umm, also not impossible, but not likely.  Although I could count on one hand the articles of clothing I’ve bought for myself this year
3. Read more books – I would love to commit to this, but when should I read?  When I’m sleeping?
4. Use my friends to babysit my toddler so my husband and I can go out more often – My friends aren’t exactly chomping at the bit to babysit
5. Get a writing job that pays me money – Man, I would love to accomplish this one.  But I still want to be a SAHM.  This means doing my writing during naps or after bedtime – any takers?

So, you see my problem.  I have A LOT of things I’d like to promise to achieve before 2013, but I don’t like to put on all the pressure.  Instead, I choose to enjoy life, my husband, and my son just as much if not more in 2012.  Now, that is something I can commit to.

Photo by: Istockphoto fairone