New Year’s Resolutions Were Sooooo 2012

To tell you the truth, I’ve never actually been a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. This is due to my longstanding belief that meaningful changes in one’s life should never have to wait till the start of the following year. There’s simply no reason not to start immediately when one realizes that the time was ripe for a grand transformation. It never mattered to me whether I failed or succeeded in my personal undertakings, I was going to earn and own my fate either way. My “New Year’s Resolutions” actually started in November, as I found myself crawling out of bed and sinking tiredly into my office chair every morning. With a tight shooting schedule this past season with an even tighter delivery schedule, I was also eating anything and everything within arm’s reach just to stay alive. This included some very yummy calories (hellooooo soft batch chips ahoy!) as well as some questionable ones (tic tacs = breakfast of champions). At some point during this year, I remembered being the wedding photographer who cartwheeled across the dance floor along with the guests. As the season wore on, I found myself struggling just to get through two choruses of the Gangnam Style. To make matters worse, my work clothes were showing signs of undue stress and I had a sneaking suspicion my 3-4 month old had no clue who his father was. The worst part of this? 3-4 months had flown by and my two boys had grown so much in this time…and I was not there to experience any of it. On all fronts, this was no bueno. So I made some personal goals, if not for the sake of my family, then certainly for my own personal health. And for the past two months, I’m proud to say that I’ve stayed on track (for the most part).

1. Spend more time with the kids. At the very least, take them out once a week and try to tuck them every night. Thankfully, we have a wonderful support structure at home that allows us to work these long hours. While our temporary sacrifices and occasional absences are for a greater good, we also realize that we should cherish the youth of our children before they’re gone. Besides, apple-picking on a Tuesday is ingenius. I’m surprised I never thought of this sooner.

2. Eat better, exercise more, and remember to take my vitamins. It’s a shame that my healthy habits fell by the wayside these past few years. Luckily there’s no shelf life to a healthy living – it’s perfectly good any time. (For inquiring minds, there’s no Lil Monster 3.0 in the works!)

3. Teach the Lil Monster how to properly operate a camera, because 2013’s going to be a doozy :). What were your goals and resolutions for 2012? Ben & Karis