30 Days of Perfection: Day 12 ~ I Like Old Things

Old things. New things. What to keep. What to let go. Change is usually not my favorite thing. I value predictability. Routine. Consistency.  "I like old things," is a theme in our house. Luke coined this phrase when he was maybe five. Change is not his favorite thing either. We were trying something new, and in the hopes of ending the adventure, every few minutes he would tell us that he "likes old phings." (He out grew this mispronunciation of "th", but it was adorable while it lasted.)  I meet most new things with this reaction.  Fortunately, it doesn't last long. New things quickly become old things and I'm glad to have tried them.

Then the issue becomes how long do I keep the old things? I may stick with them past the fun expiration date out of new thing avoidance. Or in the hopes that the old thing will reinvent itself and be fun again.  Sometimes this wait and see approach works, but usually it doesn't. The thing continues to wither and the longer it takes to die, the more annoyed I become with it. I don't want to let it go, I just want it to go.

Letting things go, or waiting for them to go on their own, is currently a nonissue. The old things are going, whether I'd like them to or not, and new things are moving in.  Next year I'll have one son moving from elementary school to middle school and one from middle school to high school. (And to make it more fun, the middle school is currently a junior high. The structure of all the schools in our district will be new next year.) I'm telling the boys how great it'll be to have a new adventure. How fun to meet new people and do new things. It's so exciting! I hear myself spinning this web of helpful parental advice and know that if I want them to believe it, I need to believe it too.

My theme will have to change to "I like new things".  This new phase in the kids lives is my opportunity for new adventures, too.  What things should I try? Which old things do I hang onto and which ones do I let go?

Day 12

Family: go for a walk with Mark

Work: run the kids around (Fridays are busy)

Writing: Friday Writing Group

Habits: be more patient

Whole Health: eat one fruit and one vegetable

Yesterday was a better day. Got an "A" for meeting my daily goals. What made the difference? The weather was great. That always has a huge impact on my mood and productivity. But more importantly, I stayed focused on them. It's so easy to forget that I'm working on new habits, and to fall into the old ones.