A New Decade – 2010

I used to have a love-hate relationship with January 1st. I love that it signifies a new beginning, new dreams, new hopes but at the same I hate it due to all my un-met resolutions! Two years ago, I finally grew-up (i.e. matured) and stopped making a big deal out of the New Year, and stopped making a long list of not likely to meet resolutions. January 1st became another flipping of the calendar day. I reasoned that I can do up a to-do-list aka resolutions anytime of the year. The biggest challenge is to stay focused and get it done.

So how was past two years since I stopped making resolutions? Were they more fruitful than the ones with resolutions? Not sure but I was definitely a happier and more relaxed person without my list of to-dos. In 2008 (the first year without resolutions) I learnt how to bake cakes and bread. I started off with recipe books and very soon realised that food bloggers are a much better source. I surprised myself by not just liking it but enjoying myself so much that I do it every other day. Being someone who prefers the outdoors and likes to be on the go all the time, my indoors hobbies used to be short-lived, but baking survived till today. My mum asked me yesterday, “You are still baking? You have not got tired of it yet?”. Due to this (my baking hobby) I stayed home more and started to appreciate my life as a homemaker.

Last year I miraculously decided to cook dinner on weekdays for my family. My hubby was shocked because no cooking was my condition when he proposed. He was worried (knowing how much I hate cooking) that I was either having a severe depression, or an early mid-life crisis. I am still at the maximum four-ingredients recipes, still complaining two hours before dinner time, still looking for ways to make my already easy recipes easier but I am still putting homecooked meals on the dinner table on most weekday nights. And for that, I am so proud of myself. Those who know me personally would be proud of me too.

Not sure whether it is pure coincidence but my life changed dramatically the minute I stopped making new year resolutions. Just for the records, learn-to-bake was part of my resolutions for years. Once again I did not make any resolutions for 2010. I will continue to embrace each day with an open mind and try to live it to the fullest. Vanessa of V and Co, wrote a beautiful post on the coming decade and how she chose consistency as her word of the year. To me it was a very well written post and I like it a lot, actually so much that I decided to adopt a similar approach for the coming decade. I would like to be consistent in loving my family, to be consistent in looking after my family’s needs, to be consistent in preparing dinner on weekdays, to be consistent in my parenting approach, to be consistent in my exercise routine, to be consistent in my calorie intake, et cetera.

Happy (belated, again) New Year, and hope that it will be a super-amazing one for all of us!