It is almost inconceivable that it is New Year’s Eve, but yet here it is. The thing that is so cool about this holiday is the definition. A clear marker of the closing of one year and the beginning of the next.
And isn’t it so predictable that many of us will take time to reflect and resolve what we want the upcoming year to look like? Studies show that many of us fail at resolutions, so we call them something else in hopes that our efforts will bring success to our newfound attempts at “fill-in-the-blank”. Losing a few pounds, getting more organized, putting more into savings, and the list goes on.
I am not doing a list, but I have done some reflection this past week. Here are the three points on which I spent time reflecting. First, what do I want to START doing this year? Second, what do I want to STOP doing this year? And lastly, what do I want to CONTINUE doing this year?
The last question was my favorite as it validates the things I am doing well. Such a positive way to approach the new year, right?
One of these is not making the bed on Sundays.
You see, I have in the past few years (finally) started making my bed every day. I have come to appreciate how it looks when I leave the house. I like that it seems so “adult” and responsible. I like how it feels when I tuck myself in at the end of the day.
For many this is a long embedded habit (pun intended). Leaving the bed unmade is plain old unheard of. I have obviously not been a stickler on this, and if my children make their beds, the props are all theirs.
So why am I not making my bed on Sundays? And what does that have to do with New Years?
With my job at the church, I pour out an enormous amount of energy on Sundays. I arrive at 7:30am and am in perpetual motion, constant conversation, not to mention on my feet, until about 1:30 in the afternoon. I give my best and the most I have to people I encounter at the weekend services. Some are fellow employees, many are volunteers, some folks are familiar friends, and some people are first time guests. It does not matter – I greet and love them all. Once I tried to estimate how many conversations I engaged in on a Sunday, and I lost track after I got to one hundred.
All of this interaction, even as an outgoing Type A extrovert, wears me completely out. Somehow the Sunday afternoon nap seems like a luxury to me. Some Sundays I will rest on the couch for a quick cat nap. Most Sundays my to-do list takes over and I trudge through it without any rest at all. This is never good, and could even be considered dangerous for those nearby.
The Sunday before Christmas I decided that I was definitely taking a nap after work, and I left the bed unmade. When I arrived home, there was my nice comfy messy bed just waiting for me. I had no trouble at all climbing back in there and took a delicious, guilt free, ninety minute nap. It was heaven. It was delightful. It was therapy.
It is now non-negotiable.
In 2015, I have been learning how to take better care of myself. I discovered that a small little trick – not making the bed – made it easier to slip in there after pouring out for many hours. I learned that I am worth taking good care of. And that is something I will continue!
So to whatever goals and lists and dreams you are carving out for your 2016, I hope you know that you are worth taking care of. And if you celebrate well tonight, you too can skip your bed-making routine in the morning.
Thanks for reading, until next year!
Sherri
sherriinsrq 
What a good idea!
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