New Year's Resolutions Offer Helpful Insight

Like many families, our family took a few minutes at dinner Friday night to discuss everyone's resolutions.  I will say that of course, I hope we follow through with our resolutions, because they were good.  But I actually found just hearing everyone's resolutions to be helpful by itself.   So what did everyone resolve to do?

Four year old daughter:
1.  Be kind to her friends and family
2.  Give more stuff to Goodwill

What I hope it means - She has learned to be a very generous soul and may be the next Mother Theresa (even though we aren't Catholic).
What it probably means - She knows her mom likes to throw stuff away and she's finally tired of hearing us tell her to be nice.

Husband:
1.  Praise his wife more
2.  Spend more time with his family
3.  Exercise more

What I hope it means - He will appreciate and celebrate me on a daily basis!  He will spend less time on his numerous hobbies and will incorporate more bike rides into Monday - Friday and less on Saturday and Sunday.
What it probably means - He knows his wife is totally exhausted after the holidays.  He probably should do more, and he feels a little bad right now.  He has genuinely good intentions about spending more time with my family and exercising more but his love for fishing, college basketball, fantasy football, his aquarium and hunting will likely be more powerful than he anticipated.

Two year old son:
1.  Give up his pacifier
2.  Learn to pee and poop in the potty

What I hope it means - He is really maturing and taking on more responsibility.
What it probably means - Mommy made his resolutions.

Me:
1.  Get back to healthy eating
2.  Cut back the number of things I do and am involved in, so I'm less stressed and have more to give my family.

What I hope it means - I will reduce my stress by doing less and holding my family accountable for more - SO that I am not tempted to consume another gallon of peppermint ice cream to reduce stress.
What it probably means - I will just eat dark chocolate instead.

I hope you had fun with your New Year's resolutions, too!  Happy 2015!