We survived 2016! Thank you, eager readers, for bearing with us as Mallory traveled for the holidays and I moved all the way across the country. It was an exhausting December, for sure.
Now that I’ve gotten a little more settled and my growing belly has made me a little less active and energetic, I can sit down and think of ways I’d like to care less about things in 2017. So, here it is in the form of my 2017 resolutions, 3 ways IDGAF (this is an urban dictionary acronym) about this year:
1. Say “NO”
As a parent this one seems easy. I say no to my kid all the time, “NO more cookies,” “NO more TV,” “NO eating off the floor like a dog.” But for some reason “no” doesn’t come so easily when making plans or taking on some added responsibility. So this is the year I’ll say no to “attending” yet another online party, no to social outings when all I want to do is watch a Netflix show by myself, no to free favors that overwhelm what I already have on my plate. A definitive “no” wastes less time and, in my opinion, is more courteous than a lukewarm maybe (which almost always turns to a last-minute no).
2. Ignore More on Facebook
I’m not particularly productive when I’m on Facebook. I like to see important life updates and pictures of how everyone is doing, but occasionally as I’m scrolling through all of the humble-brags, repetitive sales pitches and bad information I think of deleting my account altogether. In my quest for good journalism and sound science, I find it especially hard to resist the urge to reply to every misleading headline or meme with the Snopes article that corrects it. But I also don’t want to alienate friends by becoming some sort of fact-checking vigilante. So, I’m trying to ignore the app more and hide the people who are a little too trigger-happy with the share button. I highly recommend it.
3. Cut myself some slack
Arguably, I began doing this more at the end of 2016, especially when Mallory and I decided to take a bit of a writing break during the holidays and when I decided it would be okay to NOT get around to all of the Christmas activities I had planned. In 2017, I’m going to be quicker to accept the fact that I may not get around to doing the dishes at the end of the day, quicker to go ahead and let my son watch that extra TV show when I’m just too exhausted.
You see, I’m hoping that by worrying less and caring less about the trivial things that 2017 is going to be pretty awesome. Cheers to a new year, new homes and new sons for me and Mallory!
Two and Three Quarters 