If you have kids, then you know that the real New Year is not January 1st. The real beginning of the year is whenever school starts.
Everything is new. The backpacks are so clean. The lunch boxes have no oil stains from that badly planned salad dressing experiment. All the crayons are in one piece and they actually have a point. Those overpriced binders (seriously, why are these things so dang expensive?!?!) are still in one piece.
This is the moment that I decide every year that things are going to be different.
THIS YEAR we are all going to bed on time!
THIS YEAR we will all eat a healthy breakfast!
THIS YEAR I will not hide from the PTO when they ask for volunteers!
You get the idea. THIS YEAR is always going to be perfect. And guess what? It never is. You know why it’s never perfect? Because perfect is impossible.
So I have christened this year:
The Year of Good Enough
I keep waiting for a magical moment when my current lifestyle will ‘calm down’. And I finally accepted that, for the foreseeable future, that ain’t happening. So why not just embrace the madness? I think the only person who cared one bit about things being done perfectly was me. And quite frankly, I’m over it.
Will my house be spotless once the kids are gone for 7 hours a day? Nope. But it will be good enough.
Will I exercise daily now that I am kid-free all day? Who are we kidding here? I am trying to do 2 days a week. Is that optimal? Nope. But, for now, it’s good enough.
Will I focus on nurturing my relationship with my beloved husband? Perhaps…in 9 years. We’re in this together. And for now, that’s just going to have to be good enough.
Will my children have a nutritious breakfast and lunch every ding dong day? I dunno. They might. They might not. For all I know, the carrot sticks, fruits and high quality protein that I send may end up in the trash can. I am doing what I can people. My kids aren’t infants. Whatever they end up ingesting is gonna have to be good enough.
Will I effectively balance my home life, my volunteer work, and my website with Lauren? I highly doubt it. In fact, I am sure I won’t. But everything will get done eventually…or it won’t. Either way. Good enough.
And what will I do when the PTO calls?
“Hola, señora Kline no está en casa ahora mismo.”
And ya’ll, that is just going to have to be suficientemente bueno.
Laughing out loud, nodding my head, and practicing my Spanish.
Love it.
Y.O.G.E! I’m in!
Perfect timing on this one – last night I forced myself to stay in the recliner while my daughters and a friend worked on their science project in the kitchen. Of course, they basically trashed it but the project turned out nice. Every other year I would have been right there in the middle trying to somehow stop the inevitable destruction. And, I started my “I can’t afford to buy all new pants this year diet” Monday and so far I have gained one pound. Y.O.G.E!