by Katie Newingham, Photo by Karen Velasquez Photography

For some strange reason the time between Christmas day and New Year’s Day everything seems possible. As I write this letter it’s three days until the New Year. I’m sitting on a log across from a bon fire and behind me a breeze blows ripples across the lake making rhythmic sounds in my ear. I’m at peace about all of my upcoming deadlines, my husband’s dubious travel schedule and my infant’s sleepless nights. My daughter is filling buckets of sand, my son is restful in his lazy boy and my husband is charring up marshmallows over talk of building our dream home on a piece of land where our children can run and play.

That’s why it makes crazy sense to me that this time of year invokes so many new resolutions: promises to ourselves to do things differently. But notice I said “crazy.” Every year, we tell ourselves we’re going to lose five pounds, stop eating sugar or make it to every one of our children’s extra curricular activities. I’m either a pessimist or just pragmatic, you decide, but resolving myself to give up things I love - like cookies - is pure insanity.

That’s why in the past, I’ve taken to more generalized resolutions - you know with more subjective interpretations: this year I’m going to be a better wife, friend or mom. That way at the end of the year, I don’t have to step on a scale and feel like a failure when I’ve gained weight, and I can just go back to eating real sugar when the next research study comes out showing a link between synthetic sweeteners and cancer.

So it’s beyond me how I roped myself into an objective resolution like running over six miles at the end of March. Yes, I’m fully registered for the Cooper River Bridge Run in 2012 and now I’m accountable to all of you to reach this goal. In fact, you can follow my blog on this topic each week by clicking on “From Mental to Mental Strength,” where I’m sure to share my struggles as a new mom who has barely walked since I got pregnant with my son over one year ago.

Yes, everything seems possible when everything is going right. But just three days from now, it’s back to reality, back to carpool, tending to children in the wee hours of the morning – alone – because my husband will be working. But I’ll have one more item to add to my nearly impossible agenda: working out.

Like any other goal I’ve set, I’ll reach it through pure will power – uh hum – I mean faith. I’m not kidding, I’ve never achieved anything on my own. I’m not naturally very disciplined and I don’t like running or cold weather. Adding to the mountain that stands between me and 10 kilometers is procrastination. I was supposed to start training three months ago – when weather conditions were appropriate to run outdoors. But I told myself I would wait until my son was sleeping through the night. He’s still not.

You get the picture. So long to my annual traditional of resolving myself to breath more deeply, look for beauty in everything and everyone and to embrace a childlike spirit in 2012 and hello to waking up a little earlier or staying up a little later to take a jog down Charleston’s frosty streets. If you see me, be sure to laugh and wave hi. I'm sure your southern spirit will spur me on to the finish line.

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