It’s what we all do, right? December arrives, the mince pies come out and we are obligated to cram in as many social engagements as is humanly (and financially) possible, attend 83 school activities, buy shedloads of shit to give to others, emotionally bash ourselves for not giving enough to charity, panic at work that anything not put in motion before Christmas won’t happen in the new year and then we:

<< STOP >>

We stop working, we stop chasing, we stop caring whether the kids have eaten too much chocolate, we stop worrying if three wines with lunch is socially acceptable (it is BTW), we stop reading the news and frightening ourselves about the societal oblivion we’re heading for (sozzers for the reminder!)

And then we hit:

<< RESET >>

I reached the RESET phase a little too early this year (everyone knows that the button doesn’t work until 2nd January) and so have spent the last couple of days in a quandary: I really want my healthy food back but there are mince pies to finish. I really want to start my running training but I have a chesty cough and I don’t think Malbec is hydrating enough in my sports bottle. I really want the kids to be dressed before midday but the new toys haven’t lost their appeal yet (and as a result I haven’t had to endure Andy and his chuffing dinosaurs/baby animals/wild adventures – it’s a fair payoff). I am in limbo between giving and not giving two shits and I really don’t like it. I feel like a self-made victim of my own moral gluttony!

I could pretend that today is the day I shake it off, bin the pies, take down the deccies, breathe fresh, alcohol-free air and put make-up back on; but what’s the point?! Instead, I and going to refer back to one of the inaugural posts I wrote way back when I first unleashed The British Maple and plan out some New Year Intentions in lieu of new year’s resolutions.

I have a love-hate relationship with resolutions…they’re like the moralistic version of a diet. If you want to make a change, then change your lifestyle. Eating two grapefruits before each meal in a misguided attempt to lose weight might well shift a few pounds but it isn’t sustainable. Just like the temporary nature of a new year’s resolution isn’t going to dramatically alter your life long term. As an avid Instagrammer, I have seen copious versions of this floating around (and, more often than not, with the same image in the ‘and a bit less’ space).

Scrolling our lives away

In 2016 my intention was to calm down and I succeeded (mostly!) Taking a deep breath before dealing with things wasn’t a goal for 2016 and then chuck it out with the salad bag at the end of the year. It was a lasting change in my approach to dealing with the kids parenting.

<< PLAY >>

In 2019 my intention is to be more present. The tribe are spending more time apart than ever before – school, work, hobbies, growing friendship circles… so it is more important than ever to share quality time together. Less screens and more screams!

Happy New Year you lovely bunch.
Here’s to a healthy and successful one