A List of True Things
New Year’s Eve is by far my least favorite day of the year (followed closely by an extreme dislike for New Year’s Day). Am I a grumpy old lady that prefers sweatpants to sequins and couches with snacks to themed expensive parties with overindulgent booze? Well, yes… yes I am. But my distaste for this holiday stems from more than that.
During these two days, social media is filled with “my favorite memories from 2021” and statuses like “goodbye to a year filled with many highs and many lows, and hello to the year that I do XXXX.” Every article that pops up or newsletter in my inbox has a heading like “10 ways to achieve that thing you want in the New Year.”
I consider myself a very happy person. I live the life that I have cultivated and designed, and I love everything about it. My family is amazing. My husband is smart and kind, he provides for me and the kids, and he’s hotter than any celebrity I can think of. My kids are hilarious and sweet, cute and difficult, aggravating but amazing. I love every minute I spend with them, even the few minutes at bedtime when I am DONE with them for the day but they’re innocently asking/demanding one more snuggle or story. I made work for myself that fulfills me. I’m a helper, it’s part of my own design to pour into people. So I created this business where I can pour into the people I KNOW could use a boost, other mothers. I like everything about my life. I LOVE everything about my life. Even the hard stuff. Even the “lows.”
These statuses, these pictures, these attention grabbing headlines, they just don’t really serve me and in fact they kind of annoy me. I get kind of salty about it all. So instead of being a Negative Nancy, I’m going to make my own list for you. But it’s a list of things that were true yesterday in 2021 and are still true today in 2022.
Make it stand out
Just me, and my favorite Christmas Present. This beaut will be a big part of 2022!
Joselyn’s List of True Things
You’re still a good mom if you don’t find the need or make the time to write a sappy instagram post about your favorite things that happened in the last year. You’re still a good mom even if you never post anything like that ever.
You don’t have to change all the things at once…The New Year brings so much inspiration to start a new diet, begin to exercise, lose weight, start fresh, blah blah blah. If those are goals of yours, I support you in that. But it’s ok to take baby steps. It’s ok to change just a little bit at a time. It’s also ok to not change anything at all if you’re feeling happy and healthy (or, if it’s not a good time for you emotionally to change!). There should be NO PRESSURE to hop onto something that won’t serve you long term just because the calendar started over.
Exercise is not punishment. Exercise is not punishment. Exercise is not punishment. One more time, Exercise. Is. Not. Punishment. I don’t care how many christmas cookies you ate, or what your goal weight is, or if you have a goal to accomplish a new physical skill in the gym (looking at you, crossfit moms). If you train in punishment it will not serve you. Find a way to make movement joyful. Create space in your brain to view exercise as a gift to your body, instead of something to burn calories because you ate calories…
If you have recently birthed a human, are currently creating a human, trying to get pregnant, et cetra, it is okay to have different or no body goals just because the year is fresh… There is a season for everything. When a mama is nursing, it may not be the season for that mama to lose ten pounds. When a mama is pregnant, it may not serve her to make a goal to workout four times a week. Look at the season you’re in, and be okay with it. You’re okay where you are!
The power of “AND” is big. Bad things will happen in 2022. It is inevitable. We currently live in a climate where bad things are rampant. We’re still dealing with a pandemic. We have the most divisive politics in my own lifetime, maybe in many generations of lifetimes. Feelings may get hurt. Children may get sick. People could pass away. Maybe you’ll struggle with fertility, or you ARE struggling with fertility. You could have a really difficult pregnancy. Your kid could develop a habit or behaviour that drives you insane. Maybe the economy will continue to suck and it will affect your family. The possibilities of bad things are endless. Bad. Shit. Happens. It doesn’t have to define you, or define your happiness. On a smaller level, it doesn’t even have to define your fitness. The power of “and” is huge. Let me show you…
“This season is hard, AND I am still happy as a person.”
“I am sad that this bad thing happened, AND I am fulfilled in my life in these other areas.”
“It sucks that the world is the way it is, AND I am cultivating the life that brings me joy.”
This, AND that. Putting my life into this template has been really big for me in 2021. It’s something I’m taking into 2022.
And there you have it. My list of True Things. As always mamas, I am with you. I’m working on ways to best serve you in 2022, and I would be honored if I could walk a small part of your journey with you. Thanks for being here, reach out if you need me.
