A parent’s New Year’s resolution

I know, I know, another New Year’s resolution piece. Seems to be the only thing the Today Show can report on this time of year. A bunch of people deciding after a few months of eating and drinking too much that joining a gym and going for a week or two is a good idea all seems a bit silly. So for the past several years I have sworn off resolutions all together (unless you count the year I tried to give up light beer….. which I failed once BBQ season started). But still I thought now that I was a dad it was time to try a bit harder.

#1 – Loose some poundage  (the obvious one)

I would very much like to get back to what I weighed before my son’s birth (210 if you wanted to know) I am now 220. It’s not a lot of weight, but when you think about it I have gained a pound a month for every month since the boy was born. That is a trend I should probably change before he is 4 and I’m too fat to ride airplanes. 10 pound doesn’t seem like much but I can feel it and it is enough to slow me down. I’m going to have to try to keep up with the little guy soon so I’m hoping to see it all gone by the end of March.

Reasons for my gut expansion include, but are not limited to, not running enough, not hiking, not cycling, being cooped up inside and eating everything in sight over the past few months.

There are a few easy things I can do to help in the process.

  1. Eat what the boy eats. Since I’m feeding him such healthy stuff maybe I could try the same thing. It should be noted that if he is eating cheese, cheesecake for me is not a proper substitute. This also applies for apples/apple pie.
  2. Walk to work as much as possible. I’m not running like I used to, and with all the snow now covering the sidewalks I don’t see that coming back for a few more months. So I will be trying to walk to work when possible.
  3. Cut down on eating out and beer. This should not a problem since I have no money for either anyhow.
  4. Just say no to muffins – no matter how good they are.
Resolution #1 chance of success = 80%

 

#2 – Manage my time better (the hard one)

2012 was an incredibly difficult year for me in terms of being everywhere I was needed all the time. I worked too much, wasn’t home enough, missed time with family and friends, missed out on some of my son’s early months, neglected home improvement, and at the end of it all still didn’t accomplish very much. This year I will try to balance it all out better. Not sure how I’m going to pull that off being as I now have an even harder and more time-consuming job, and my son will be growing up event faster but I will try my best. Wish me luck on this one.

 

Resolution #2 chance of success = 70% (it’s important)

#3 – Read More (and something other than my Twitter feed)

I read more in 2012 than in 2011 and would like to continue this trend. My son’s starting to get into books and I read him about 30 yesterday. That’s all well and good but I’m also hoping to read some things that aren’t printed on cardboard pages and don’t have puppies on every page.

I’ll try to break from reading just old Calvin & Hobbes comics and read something with a little more substance too. I plan to continue consuming as much news as I can while also learning more about WordPress, digital marketing, event planning, politics and parenting (I should probably focus in on the parenting one).

Though it will be tough to break away from reruns of the Big Bang Theory and Family Guy, I think more reading will be good for me, and hopefully set a good example for the boy so that he isn’t some sort of drooling TV junkie.

Resolution #3 chance of success = 50%

#4 – Stop Swearing (Sh*t that’s going to be hard)

The boy is close to speaking his first word and it would be best if it wasn’t the F-bomb. I’m going to try to use less “colorful language” around him. But first I have to decide how far I can go. The F-word, S-word and a few others are obviously on the list, but what about some “softer” swears? Do I have to cut out “sucks” “screw” and “ass” too? What about D-Bag? Can I call someone a D-bag? What if they are really being a D-bag? I was raised in a house where there was a zero tolerance policy on anything harsher than”butt-head”. Will having similar rules cause my son to rebel and have the mouth of a sailor? To early to tell. But in the meantime I should try as hard as a I can to clean up my speech. Or maybe I will just have to get all my swearing out at work. So if any of my coworkers are reading this don’t be surprised if I raise the bar a bit in 2013.

Resolution #4 chance of success = Better chance of hell freezing over. I’m being realistic on this one.

Happy New Year’s to all the dads out there trying to be better. 

Pat Lemieux

About Pat Lemieux

Pat has it all, family, big old house, dogs, a young son and a quarter-life crisis. He blogs about trying to be who he has always been and be who he now needs to be. He enjoys 90's grunge metal, tasty local brews and the outdoors.