Flowers and Candles

I have a New Year's Resolution.  A legit one.  I typically never bother because I can't come up with a resolution that I feel confident about keeping.  Like exercising.  But this one I do.  Because it's simple (to most people).  It should be simple, but for this planner and anxious stresser, it's not.  Are you ready for this? 

I'm going to breathe.  Deeply.  From the depths of my small chest to the top of my average sized nostrils and out my oh so big mouth.  In slow motion and often.  When Dude is asking why he can't have candy for breakfast for the 134th time in his cheapy birdlike voice, I'm going to breathe.  When Squirt poops the very second we're loading up house and home to get Dude to school, I'm going to breathe.  When I sit in 45 minutes of traffic trying to get my 8 hours in at the office, I'm going to breathe.  When Tim tells me of another week long work trip, I'm going to breathe (more breathing will be required for this one).  And when my house looks like the Polar Express just charged through it, depositing toys in every direction, I'm going to breathe. 
The breathing won't be the hard part.  It'll be the regular reminders to myself to produce the breath.  I'm hoping this resolution will produce more calm around my house and that my handsome and naturally deep breathing husband will reap the benefits of my new, chill existence.  Ok, that might be exaggerating what I'm capable of, but you get the idea.  As Dude would say, "Smell the flowers and blow out the candles."  Here's hoping for lots of visual flowers and candles for me in 2012.   By the way, that's suposed to be me breathin' in the flowers above. In Tim's dreams.

And again, me.  Blowing out the candles.