All News & StoriesMaking resolutions is one of the most popular New Year’s traditions, and yet year after year, we admittedly struggle to keep up with those well-intentioned commitments. If that sounds all too familiar, 2024 might just be your year! We asked Child Care Answers staff how they plan to ring in the New Year and reflect on their biggest new year’s resolution flops or successes!
Patti, Data/Assessment Specialist
I’ve tried making New Year’s resolutions in the past, but despite my best intentions they always seem to fall by the wayside – so I’ve abandoned the resolution concept. Now I try to be optimistic with the mindset that the coming year will provide me with an opportunity for new goals, new memories, and new adventures.
Jamie, Family Engagement Specialist
I have always liked the idea of New Year’s resolutions but find them to be a bit overwhelming. I have learned over the years that life may take me in a different direction come April, July, October. Instead, my partner and I take a moment at the end of year to reflect. We talk about our favorite memories and the hardships we overcame. We dream together of what the next year could be and how we can support each other in taking steps toward those dreams.
Lane, Human Resources Manager
New Year’s Eve was always a fun time to stay up to midnight. We’d watch old shows like the Twilight Zone marathon. No resolutions – just a fun way to welcome the new year.
Mollie, Executive Director
At the beginning of a new year, I focus on what I will leave behind, such as what I can’t change or the things that have brought negativity into my life. Sometimes eliminating is more important than adding. The “New Year’s Resolution” or “New Year’s Intention” is about focusing on what I have control over and how I plan to become a better version of myself. Over the years, I have done various things like writing down the moments that weren’t so great and then tearing up the paper or putting it in the fire pit and reflecting on how to handle it differently or better. The key difference for me is that I am 100% more successful when I write it down, find someone to keep me accountable, and plan how to accomplish the goal. I mean, giving up fountain Diet Coke after 20 years is not an easy task, but that small change has made a big impact on my health!
Tom, Family Engagement Manager
I’ve never been into New Year’s resolutions and honestly look at the passing of one year into the next as just another day. Sometimes, I even forget it’s New Year’s Eve until I hear fireworks going off. New Year’s Day, however, we always order food from our favorite local Chinese restaurant and watch movies together as a family. This next year I’m looking forward to my family’s continued growth – daily growth of our one-year-old, a son turning ten, and another turning 16. We’ve got our work cut out for us!
Lauren, Family Engagement Specialist
I do not generally make resolutions, because, let’s be honest, they are always a flop. We toast to the New Year, count down to noon (because, children!), and say goodbye to the year before.
Rosy, Multicultural Family Engagement Specialist
I’m a huge Nine Inch Nails (NIN) fan. That being said, one my favorite NIN song, “Find My Way,” made a significant impact on my life. I wondered what type of person I could be if I could become “the best version of myself,” which led me back to church. Three years ago, I made a New Year’s Resolution to truly find my way and my life has not been the same since. It’s the only New Year’s resolution I’ve ever stuck with and continue to cultivate year after year. Who knew Trent Reznor would be the person who would gently push me toward finding my way to God and help stick to a New Year’s resolution.
Kristin, Communications and Community Manager
Having flopped with various resolutions to exercise more and stress less, the only New Year’s resolution where I’ve succeeded is in completing a 365-day streak on the language-learning app, Duolingo. I’m a few days shy of hitting the 1,000 day mark! I have learned a bit of Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian while brushing up on my previous studies in French, German, and Dutch. I may not be able to carry on a conversation in most of those languages, but I can tell you how to say things like, “My dad’s dog is wearing a purple hat” in all of them.
