The past few years, on News Year's Eve, I have resolved to make no New Year’s Resolutions (because I’m a smart ass). And so far, it’s been working for me. I have not made any resolutions, I have not let myself down, and I have no grand triumph stories to share. I always set my habit-changing goals for the summer time. With no school to worry about and more control over my schedule, it just makes more sense to me to work on myself then, rather than on January 1st when school and life are in full swing and I'm overwhelmed.
This summer, I need to pull myself — kicking and screaming — away from caffeine. I have been drinking black coffee at the wee hours of the morning since the summer between my fifth grade and sixth grade years. I live on a farm, and over the summer, it was me and my siblings’ responsibility to care for our 4-H animals. (During the school year, our job was to focus on school. We were excused from morning chores, but not necessarily allowed to skip helping with evening chores unless we had too much homework – that’s the card I always played.) We often woke up before sunrise – before it got hot – to exercise our animals. It didn’t take long for me to give in to my older sister’s prodding to try some coffee, “It’ll wake you up. You’ll feel so much better.” And from there, I was hooked.
After working in the barn all day, it was routine to grab a can of Mountain Dew or Dr. Thunder – both chock full of caffeine. I weaned myself away from the carbonated drinks because they started to really mess up my stomach. But I’ve gone back because it seems I am powerless overcome my craving for the ungodly amounts of sugar in a can of pop. (Yes, pop. Not soda. Pop.)
My first summer’s resolution is to switch to decaf coffee at the least. I tried to give up coffee altogether, but I enjoy the bitter taste too much to do so. My ultimate goal, though, is to drink water in place of any and all things caffeine. If I had any amount of self-discipline to speak of, it’d go like this: water first thing in the morning, a glass before and after each meal, and one last glass before sleep. That would be a total of eight glasses. (That’s what’s still recommended, right?)
My next summer’s resolution is to start exercising again. I mean, doing anything. (Yes, it’s that bad.) I used to have a simple morning routine down for a few years. But it was built off of rehab for my knees. If I didn’t focus on making my knees work first thing in the morning, I wouldn’t be able to walk well that day. So it wasn’t hard to stick to it. But once my physical therapist said I was good to go, I could rationalize sleeping in the extra half hour instead of making my body move. It still messed with how my legs worked the rest of the day for a week or so, but simply because I was excused by a doctor, I didn’t care. Since then, I’ve almost completely reverted back to the jello-weakness I had after my knee surgeries.
I used to enjoy riding bikes, but my knees were so messed up for so long that pedaling is difficult and uncomfortable still. I may try to get back to that, but I don’t think my work schedule will allow it. So, I hereby resolve to walk more: Use the stairs, park far away from my destination, hike, that sort of thing. I am also going to focus on a morning routine that enables me to walk more, as I’ve said before, my knees are a problem. But this morning routine will also involve toning my arms and core. (That’s more narcissistically motivated. I want to look like a Manly-Man. Or at least a I-Don’t-Know-If-You’re-A-Man-Or-Not-Person)
Last, and probably most important, I resolve to stop giving up the time I need to be alone and recharge in order to make other people happy. I am relatively introverted. I like being alone. If I could become a hermit or an ascetic without breaking my mother’s heart (and knowing I wouldn’t starve to death), I would. (But there I go again giving up what I know is best for me because other people will have something to say about it.) I know my actions affect other people. I respect that. But I need to learn to respect myself. As much as I’d like to be one of those people who need to hang out with a group to work through their stress and feel relieved, I am not one of those people. Too often, I am bowing out of my right to take care of myself in order to cross just one more thing off my to-do list, in order to meet the non-dire needs of another person, in order to do or act like what I’m supposed to as a college-age person, etcetera, etcetera. But I give up. Enough is enough. Self-care, though listed last, is my most important summer health resolution.
So let’s recap, shall we?
Shelby’s Summer Resolutions
1. Stop drinking caffeinated coffee; switch to decaf.
2. Drink more water — aiming for eight glasses a day.
3. Walk more.
4. Tone arms and core
5. Stop compromising recuperation time to make other’s happy
(Side Note: I always get around actually working on my resolutions because I never give myself a start date. But I just got off the phone with my mom. She’s going to bring me a sandwich from Wendy’s. She said, “Is that a combo? Oh, wait. You’re trying not to drink pop.” To which I thought damn, she’s right and said, “Yeah, no pop, I’ll just drink water from home.” Looks like I’m starting… now.)
