2016 was quite a climb….
It will forever go down as the year I learnt the most.
The most about myself.
The most about friends.
The most about family.
The most about love.
It will be the year I learnt who means the most. The year that showed me how important family time is. How to appreciate every little detail.
So for 2017, I have decided that I will set resolutions for myself that aren’t like the ones I’ve set in the past. I will not be pledging to lose weight or exercise more. I will not be setting any new career goals or plans to learn new skills — though I do hope that both of these things happen naturally. I will be setting resolutions that will push me to dig deeper (not in a Shuan T way) but that it allows me to work harder on myself.
Here goes nothing!
Be Slightly flaky.
Learn you do not have to respond to every text message and return every phone call on “time”, or ever. You don’t have to make it to every event or every birthday party. It is ok if you agree to something and then decide later that you don’t actually have the mental or physical capacity for it. Even if you just don’t want to do it anymore. Do not push yourself beyond your limits because you are worried about what people will think. Flake when you want to, flake when you have to.
Be Intimate – All Relationships.
Acknowledge the reasons you’ve become so detached, and slowly chip away at what ever it is that made you build up a guard. You don’t have to lower your standards to feel safe. You don’t have to find love right away. You don’t have to sit through meals with people you don’t like. You don’t have to feel obligated to go anywhere. Form friendships, build up trust, and have patience.
Find The Good – In Things You Hate.
Embrace the heat. Embrace people who don’t listen. Embrace the grumpy faces. Figure out what you don’t love about them; figure out why it bothers you so much and learn how you can better appreciate them for their place in your world.
Forget about being the ‘Perfect Mammy’.
Like every mammy I have good and bad days. Sometimes I wish I could hide away in the garden with endless cups of tae (said with an Irish twang) and other days I wear my super mammy cape proudly and know that 95% of the time my little loves are happy with me. As parent’s we always put a huge amount of pressure to be ‘the perfect parent!’ Remember to be proud for all the little things you do right day after day. The quote below #nailsit …
There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children… What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply. – Elder M. Russel Ballard
Find Home.
Don’t worry Mr O – Moving 2 days before Christmas won’t happen again this year! But for others… It might mean staying right where you are, it might mean moving down the street, and it might mean moving halfway across the world. Wherever it might be, find the place where you can feel most comfortable, the most secure and the happiest. Invite people in and let them feel as relaxed as you do. I certainly feel like this home is our home for the near future but its nice to feel relaxed about changes. Changes can be a great thing!
Focus on the positives.
Try to give yourself a compliment! One compliment a day. Perhaps write it each day on a piece of paper and at the end of the year read back on you’re strong points? Could be about the dinner, that you felt beautiful, walked the dog for a change or just made it through the day. I think if I wrote a note to myself today, it would have said
Listen up Helly! Stay calm – Home work is shite. It is tough. You don’t know all the Sheiks name’s and patience is not you’re strong point but you know how to Dr Google and you’re little loves know they are loved unconditionally – So, Well done Mammy!
Happy new year to you all. Thank you to everybody who has supported and followed in our Journey thus far. Looking forward to more adventures in 2017.
Enjoy the year ahead with your Littleloves…
Love, Helly x