Y Talk: Resolution Checkup by Michelle Bell

Since my last turn to write the Wednesday Y blog, several people have stopped me to ask how my New Year’s resolution is going. (If you missed that installment you can read it here.)

I’m going to be completely honest – I still don’t have any pictures in those photo frames. I did actually take the time to figure out which ones I was going to use, which was very difficult. But that’s as far as I got. So Uncle Trent and Aunt Bridget still take up residence on our wall.

But I am very pleased to report that my other resolution – going on a “date” with those near and dear to me at least once a month – is completely intact. Other resolutions I have attempted to keep have been hard. That has not been the case with this one. Oh, sometimes it’s hard to nail down a specific date and time or to choose exactly what we’re going to do. But even if it takes a few attempts to figure out the specifics, I have found that I look forward to these dates so much that I am willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.

January

I started off my year of dates with my mom, Diane Armstrong. I figured it was only natural that she would go first since she is the reason I’m here and her birthday happens to be in January. We had to bang around a few ideas until we found one that would work, but it was worth the effort. We went to Sight & Sound in Lancaster to watch the incredible production, Moses. This was not the first show I have seen there and just like all of the others, Moses did not disappoint. I still want to know how they made the staff turn into a snake and then back into a staff again. It was very impressive. After the show we enjoyed a late lunch at Isaac’s – one of our all-time favorite places to eat.

February

I celebrated a milestone birthday last October and many of my friends are joining me in this new club. Kristin Tuckey became one of the newest members in February so I thought it was an obvious choice that she would be my date for the month. We ran into a minor speed bump when sickness attempted to sabotage our plans, but we were persistent. We willed everyone back to health and just bumped our plans back a week. We headed to Gettysburg to do some shopping at the outlets. It was amazing. It’s not often that I get to shop for myself without listening to someone in my family whine about how long I’m taking in the fitting rooms or that he or she is bored, tired, hungry or fill in the blank with any other negative adjective. So shopping with Kristin was magical. We took as long as we wanted when we were trying on clothes and no one asked us over and over if they could have this, that or the other thing in the store. It was glorious. Then we enjoyed a nice lunch at Dobbin House Tavern, once we figured out how to get into the place.

March

If you are like me you have people in your life who are special enough to make you do something that you wouldn’t normally do – because they are worth it. I have three ladies in my life who fit that description. You see, I don’t really do mornings. I would prefer to sleep until at least 8 every day and later would be even better. But life doesn’t often allow for that. I also enjoy running (or at least I once did). And if I’m going to get to run with my friends Tricia Hallman, Abby Burkholder and Geralyn Denlinger, it requires that I get up waaaayy before 8am. So once a week (in non-freezing weather and on no-precipitation days) I join my fellow Early Birds at 5:30am to run. Every single time we go I ask myself what in the world I am doing. But when the run is over, it’s always worth it.

One of the Early Birds is moving in June so I knew I had to get these ladies in the date rotation early in the year. I contemplated finding a race we could run together in March. But when our options for dates that would work for all four of us involved one Saturday night, it became clear we needed another plan. So instead of running ourselves, we opted to watch other people run instead. After a relaxing dinner and time to chat at Panera, the four of us headed to the movies to watch McFarland USA, a movie based on a true story about the unlikely California state cross country champions from McFarland. The movie was amazing. We laughed, we cried and we had a great time.

Feeling Refreshed

I have loved all of the activities I have done with my dates. But what I enjoyed most was the time spent together. It’s not often that I get my mom all to myself. Once you get married and have kids, those alone times are fewer and far between. It was especially nice to just be able to sit back and talk and laugh with all of these lovely ladies and not feel like we had to rush to the next thing.

Those moments have been my very favorite so far. Sitting. Chatting. Laughing. Just being. Too often my life is ruled by the alerts I get on my phone and constantly going from one thing to the next. And I know that with three very active kids, that is just the way it is sometimes.

But what I have learned almost three months into this resolution is that silencing my phone and taking time away with the people I love most has recharged me in a way I didn’t realize was possible. And now I see how essential that is for my personal well-being.

So I don’t think it will be hard to finish out the year with a perfect 12-for-12 in the date department. I’m not just checking a box each month; I’m filling up my tank so I am able to be the best wife, mom and friend I possibly can until I make it to the next date. I can’t wait to see what the next nine months have in store.

-by Michelle Bell, Marketing Director