Have you noticed the past few years it’s become a little cringey to use the word “resolutions”? Then we tried the word mantra, even an Oprah-favorite, intention. They’re all in the same family, really. But this year, oooh, you cannot utter the phrase “setting New Year’s…” anything without someone running in the other direction. While 2020 was not what any of us anticipated, I am still fully here for a plan for 2021. I don’t care if someone lights that plan on fire, I’m still going to put it out there, and do my darnedest to make some progress. Because progress = hope. Today we’re sharing a few of our Pack Promises that we’re making to ourselves, our family, and our cozy corner of the internet; in hopes that you may find one or two that give you a glimmer of hope in the year ahead:

I promise.

The entire premise of promising something, I do not take lightly. But I love the idea of setting actionable, attainable goals that I know if I set my mind to, I can make happen. They aren’t lofty goals of cutting out all sugar (which I’d love to, but would never be able to achieve ?), or swearing off the occasional curse word that escapes my mouth (see parenthesis explanation before ?). These are choices that I can control, and follow through with to make life better in 2021 (despite any external pandemic or craziness that might come our way). Here goes – I promise to:

1. Send a snail mail card for every birthday, anniversary, and holiday to our loved ones so that no milestone goes unnoticed and we can remind our people of how special they are throughout the year. I bought a mega all-occasion pack on amazon and can’t wait to use every last one of them.
2. Find my inner vegan chef . Because being vegan and gluten free is hard, especially whilst cooking for a tiny (discerning) vegetarian, and Jon the omnivore. Quite often, it sucks the joy out of mealtimes. I want to seek out new ingredients and recipes to get out of the food rut and sprinkle more exciting options into the mix. I’m starting with these cookbooks and going from there!
3. Become a professional Joy Seeker. I want to take the act of joy-seeking so seriously that it might be mistaken for my full-time job. I want to infuse love, laughter, and yes, JOY, into as many areas of our lives as possible. I hope to bring that here in this space, on all social channels, when I’m running around with my family, and even when I’m at home cleaning toilets. Life is short. For some, even shorter. If today is it – I want it to be joyful.
4. Make both mental & physical health a priority. Being quarantined early on in the pandemic forced us to start focusing more on our health, and a wonderful by-product that came from that was working out at home. This program has been the only workout (ever!) to keep both of us motivated and excited to wake up early and complete these every day. But more than that, I think we both realized the importance of our mental well-being, and the impact it has on our family as a whole. We are modeling for Grey, and if the pillars aren’t strong, the house will crumble. I bought Grey a bunch of books about feelings, and we make time each night to talk about the highs and lows of the day, and work to deal with our own anxieties so that we can be a safe space for Grey to share his.
5. To Do Better. This one is broad, I know, but it has so much power behind it. I would like to do a little better each day. It doesn’t have to be “overall, today was better than yesterday”. But maybe today I will have read an extra few pages in my book than I was able to the day before. Or I took the time to send an article to a friend that I think she might like to read. Perhaps I plan an impromptu date night to spend time just the two of us. When Grey asks if I can play in his rocket ship, I say yes right away rather than “in a few minutes when I finish XYZ””. Tiny shifts can work together to change old, crummy habits into truly wonderful ones. I love the quote about leaving the world better than you found it. But for today, I will strive for leaving the room, or the conversation, or a little slice of me, better than the day before.

My Dad kept this clipping on the table and read it each day while he sipped his coffee. It was something I grew up seeing, but not realizing the value of. At his celebration of life, many of the stories his friends and colleagues shared were how he actually put this wisdom into practice every day. This year, I’d like to have it blown up and hung in our home as a reminder of the good we can do if we try. Sharing below in case you see a nugget or two that speaks to you. Thank you for being here, and from our Pack to yours, wishing you the most Joyful 2021!