2012: The Year of Us

Not really the best photo of our family, but the only shot we have from New Year's Eve.

I've been talking a lot about the New Year, haven't I? I usually don't really get this into the whole New Year buzz, but this year I've kind of fallen for the excitement of a fresh start. I've been meal planning, doing good deeds, and committed to follow the "if it's broken, fix it" mantra. But there is still one other thing I'm committed to this year...

In 2012, I want to focus on my family in order to take advantage of every possible moment and build a foundation of happiness for all of us.

I take too much on. I let white noise get in the way of the stuff I should be listening to. I get way too distracted. And the thing that drops to the bottom of my list is my family. It's not intentional, I just feel like they'll always be there. I spent too much time putting my job first in W's first couple of years. I can admit all of this.

It almost felt like we were playing house before. Have you ever felt that way? Like you're pretending to be the adult that you're supposed to be? We had the house in the suburbs, the baby boy, but none of it seemed real. I kind of half expected to wake up from a dream in our old condo in the city. And I did wake up, just in a different sort of way.

With your first born, you're all learning together and figuring it all out. I feel like W raised us as parents as much as we raised him. We taught each other how to be a family. And now we have this wonderful little family and it feels right. We feel like we're supposed to be mom and dad to these two beautiful boys and I embrace this roll.

I'll always take on too much and have trouble focusing on one thing at a time. I'm not looking to change who I am. I'm looking to embrace it and live in each moment that I can. I'm making a promise to all of us that I'll stop stretching us too thin and make the most of the time we have together. It's time for us to reevaluate what we're doing based on what works for our family, not what worked for the priorities we used to have for ourselves. The decisions that have led us here were based on 3-5 year decisions. This year we have to make 10-30 year decisions. And we're all ready for it.

Disclosure: I was compensated with a $25 gift card for participating in the Trop50 True Resolutions Campaign, which celebrates the real reasons behind New Year’s resolutions. Share your secret motivation behind your resolutions and you’ll earn a coupon for $1 off Trop50 for yourself and 50¢ off coupons for up to 50 of your friends. You can even submit incognito with a fierce disguise. Bonus: Whether you submit a resolution or not, you can also enter a sweepstakes to win a $1000 gift card.