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Guilt management in the New Year?

Ok, I try to resist seeing New Year's Day as a New Beginning, believing each day is just that, but can't help feeling refreshed.

Though we preferred sleeping out the year, we dutifully sat out New Year's Eve with the kids, only to realize we missed the countdown by a minute! I guess we were caught in the spell of the movie.

New Year's Day should be just like any other day of the year, but somehow it feels different. The air smells different, I feel a shift, new possibilities. It could just be the 'afterthrobs' of an overwhelming Holiday season, the relief of having gotten through it again, but this year I choose to believe in the magic of a new start, so I have made some resolutions:

1. go for regular walks with friends (exercise + friends = mental health, n'est-ce pas?!)

2. eat healthier + less (who says vegetarians always eat healthy???)

3. sign my 3 yo up for scheduled classes

4. turn off the TV more often

5. do family dinners

These are great and doable. Leaves me with resolution number 6. 'Guilt Management'.

I often feel like an octopus, having a tentacle in so many areas: kids, husband, house, BearHugs business, translation jobs, sewing gigs, PTA activities in 2 schools, not to mention that ever elusive 'self-care', where you get to do stuff to recharge your battery. Having spread myself pretty thin, I end up doing none of these things very well... enter the guilt.

Talk about an energy drain!! This year, I hope to shelf this thing. I will identify, name and disable this little devil, that ever present, ready to take over, fun sucking entity that whispers in my ear, telling me I'm not good enough, don't clean enough, don't play enough with my kids, don't volunteer enough, my sewing's not good enough, I ate too much again, not selling enough BearHugs, etc., etc.

Understanding that aiming for complete obliteration would mean setting up a self-fulfilling situation where I'd feed the little sucker by not succeeding. I resolve, for this year, to gag it, silence it so I can break out of the rut and actually enjoy all that I do!

Who knows, maybe next year I'll be able to tackle that other nasty kill joy: Fear!