You matter. I matter.

Hello, 2018! New year, new me!

Just kidding.

I’m not one to make resolutions, yet each year I get caught up in the hype of it all and find myself making a mental list. It goes a little something like this:

1. I will start going to the gym again (suuure you will)

2. I will cut out sugar, sweets, bread, cream cheese…(insert whatever else made me feel bloated over the holidays). I am also hoping improving my diet might even have a positive impact on my teeth! One of my friends cut out sugar last year, and her Dentist in San Ramon noticed a big improvement in her oral health. Plus, I might even treat myself to a teeth whitening procedure this year so I want my teeth to be in the best possible condition.

3. I will go to bed earlier (as I sit here at 11:30pm writing this post)

4. I will be more patient with my kids (this, I really truly work on)

5. I will do more for me (…wait, is 2017 already over?)

Every year a list is made. Every year the list implodes on itself within 1 week if not 2 days. Womp, womp, woooomp.

This year I’m saying screw the list. I’m choosing a word and that word is going to stick with me and I’m going to try my damndest to say it daily.

What’s the word?

Matter.

Kind of an awkward word when you see it on its own. It’s a word we throw around regularly in different context, so not to be confused with the scientific definition of it here is the definition that will be coming in to play:

Matter

[mat-er]

noun

8. importance or significance

Why ‘matter’? Because YOU matter & I matter & I know that this is something we lose sight of & forget. Do you ever stop and say to yourself “I matter”? I know that I don’t, but I know I need to. What I feel matters, what I do matters. I am important, the things I want for myself are important. Everything I do is significant, if even in the smallest way.

We get so caught in living our lives for others, whether it’s our kids, our spouses, our families, or our jobs/co-workers, we forget that we need to focus on ourselves too. That we matter and our physical and mental health MATTER. As a mom I feel as though I live a quarter of my life in the kitchen & at least another quarter of it chauffeuring children from one activity to another. They may not always take notice and acknowledge it, but I still need to know that the things I do matter. Once I’m able to grasp that and truly believe it, I know it will help me with my “non resolutions”.

If I believe I matter I know it will help me be a better mom & a better ME. The 5 seconds that will pass as I take a deep breath and tell myself I matter, will be the 5 seconds I need to keep from exploding at the kids (or a co-worker) over something trivial. It will be the 5 seconds I need to help decide that I will take an evening out with the girls or for myself. It will be the 5 seconds I need to kick the guilty feeling away FOR taking time to myself. It’s the 5 seconds I’ll need to boost myself if I’m feeling low.

My challenge to you this year is to remember that YOU matter too & put yourself first. Give it a try, right now. Look in the mirror, take a deep breath and say “I matter”. Because you do, even if you’re the only one saying it, you truly do.

YOU matter & I matter.

May 2018 be the best year of YOU.