Dear Kid,

You may have noticed a wee bit of sarcasm in yesterday’s blog about New Year’s Resolutions and the best way to go about keeping them. You may also have noticed a wee bit of cynicism the day before when I talked about the resolutions I will never ever even attempt to keep.

To be fair, you might have noticed more than a wee drop. (And, as they say, a little goes a long way.)

So (hang onto your hat, kiddo) I decided to take a moment and write some very real and serious resolutions. No joke.

In 2016, I resolve to

1. Appreciate every moment with the Puppy because I know he won’t be here forever.
2. Make time to spend with friends—even if we do absolutely nothing when we’re together.
3. Wear a piece of good jewelry at least once a month. I love my costume jewelry, but every now and then wearing the real thing makes me feel special.
4. Drink more water and eat less sugar.
5. Schedule “Date Night” at least once a month.
6. Pay more attention to people than to technology.
7. Tell my kids how much I love them and how proud I am of them. Even if they roll their eyes when I tell them.

Love you kiddo. Have a wonderful 2016.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

New Year’s Resolutions can be very hard to keep. Yesterday I listed 7 that I realized I had no interest in keeping even as I wrote them. After that, I realized that the ability to keep resolutions has very little to do with willpower and everything to do with how you write the resolutions in the first place.

Therefore, I’ve created a list of resolutions I will absolutely, positively keep.

In 2016, I resolve

1. To wake up—at least once a day.
2. Not to buy purple shoes in size 5 (I wear a 7 ½).
3. To shop for a new pair of rain boots (possibly to even find a pair I like).
4. To eat on a regular basis.
5. To root for the Bengals—no matter what.
6. To walk at least a mile. Every month. (Isn’t it wonderful having a Fitbit that can measure these things?)
7. To stay on a diet. For at least 6 minutes.
8. Not to remodel the kitchen.
9. Not to go into the attic in our house (in the 18 years we’ve lived here, I’ve never once ventured up there and I see no reason to start now).
10. To see at least one movie (made for TV movies count).

See how easy it can be to keep resolutions? Bet you’re not going to buy size 5 purple pumps either…

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Happy New Year! And happy apples to celebrate the New Year.

Apples are members of the rose family. Unfortunately, handing your True Love a bouquet of apple blossoms doesn’t really have the same effect as sending a dozen roses. Or even a single rose.

There are over 8,000 varieties of apples, 2,500 of which are grown in the US.
Which is weird since only a small number of varieties are sold in your grocery store. This has a lot to do with grocery stores and shoppers and not so much to do with apple availability.

Apples ripen six to 10 times faster at room temperature than if they are refrigerated.

Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit. The largest apple ever picked weighed 3 pounds. As with so many things, I’m not sure that those at the extreme ends are fabulous.

A peck of apples weighs 10.5 pounds. A bushel of apples weighs about 42 pounds. Therefore, if I Love You a Bushel and a Peck of apples, a considerable percentage of my body goes toward loving. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Or a misrepresentation.

It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.

In Chinese, the word for apples is pronounced “ping” which also means peace. This is perhaps my favorite apple fact.

Thanks to their high levels of boron, apples can help improve your memory, mental alertness, and electrical activity of the brain. While apples don’t have a lot of calcium, their boron content helps strengthen bones. I think I might have to research boron.

Apples also contain malic acid, a chemical used in teeth whitening products, which helps dissolve stains.

Malusdomesticaphobia is the fear of apples. I have no idea why you would ever need to know that because apples are good things. And according to popular lore, they keep the medical professionals away. Mostly because you have shiny white teeth and strong bones from eating all those apples.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

First things first. Turns out that Clemson trounced Oklahoma University the other night. My apologies.

Tomorrow is the first of January (you knew that, but I needed a transition).

Many people focus on resolutions for the new year. They make promises to themselves for all sorts of things (and by “all sorts of things” I mean weight loss, new job, working out more, etc.).

Those resolutions generally last somewhere up to 6 days, 8 hours, and 49 minutes.

Yet we (and by “we” I mean most of us) make resolutions, knowing we are unlikely to keep them.

The Japanese have a different approach.

The new year is a very important holiday in Japan. Rather than focusing on resolutions, the Japanese hold “Bonenekai” or “forget-the-year-party” to say goodbye to the problems and troubles of the past year and prepare for a new beginning.

Rather than making promises for the future, they release the old and make room for the new. By opening themselves up to the possibilities of the new year, they create room for whatever comes their way.

It’s a very different way of looking at things.

It’s one I think I’m going to try this year.

Goodbye 2014—it’s been nice knowing you.

Hello 2015—I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me.

Happy New Year, kiddo!

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

We’re winding down winter vacation and warming up to a balmy 38 degrees today. According to the weather forecasters (3% accuracy rating), we will warm up long enough for half the ice to melt off my car (conveniently, the backup camera will not be one of the spots that melts), then we’ll have rain. And snow. Probably a heat wave and dust storms following that.

Booker has joined the New Year’s Resolution Trend and asked begged insisted that we play fetch after our morning walk and before breakfast. Because he isn’t really a fetching sort of dog (he’s very good at the chase-it-down part and often replaces the bring-it-back part with chew-on-it-for-a-while), I’ve learned to rotate toys. Bring back the squeaky skunk and I’ll throw the limbless orange bear. Bring back the orange bear and I’ll throw the squeaky donut. Bring back the donut and I’ll throw the piece of cloth that used to be a dragon. All interspersed with the occasional tug-of-kill-it. As in, we each hold on to the toy and Booker shakes his head to kill it. I find that hilarious. Happy to report we have no live toys at the moment.

Usually, when we play before breakfast it is for a few minutes before his tummy calls an official time out for food. Today, in true New Year’s Resolution fashion, we kept playing and playing. I finally had to use the Power of Mom to end the game and move the morning along.

As I type, he is sleeping off the excessive bout of exercise.

In other news, I am having a problem with technology. Not really news. But this isn’t about getting the electric kettle to work or some other Truly Difficult Programming Problem. The problem is I like the really cool stuff when it is brand new, impossible to get, and crazy expensive. Like the new e-ink clocks. Don’t bother making a note to buy it for me once the price drops. By then I’ll have moved on to my latest techno-crush and have no interest. It’s a pattern I keep repeating. Frustrating to be sure, but unintentionally very good for my wallet as I never buy anything. By the time I can afford to purchase (fill in cool techno gizmo here), I’m either just plain not interested or it’s been replace by Gen2 Cool Techno Gizmo and I decide to wait for the next one.

Which means I am still writing with clay and a stylus. In the snow. Going uphill. For miles.

Love, Mom

Haven’t LIKED DearKidLoveMom on Facebook? There’s no time like now!