Weary of vowing to lose weight? Dried up from promising to drink less? Tired of stepping up your exercise plan yet again? Come on, admit it, you’re bored with the same old New Year’s resolutions. And besides, you never make it past Martin Luther King Day.
Well, I’m here to help with a prescreened list of meaningful, multitasking resolution ideas. None of these is magic, but each has potential benefits for you, your family, and what the heck, the whole darn planet.
1. Feed your kids breakfast. That’s right. And I’m not talking about shoving a toaster pastry and a juice box at them as they run out the door for the bus. “The most radical social act you can do these days is to make your own breakfast,” says Margaret Adamek, a nutrition and behavior expert at the University of Minnesota, who spoke to an audience of parents at my children’s school.
Without even getting into the politics of agribusiness, look at a few nutritional fast facts: One-third of U.S. children eat fast food every day, not counting school lunches which often include highly processed foods high in refined carbohydrates and fats. On average, Americans eat 300 more calories, 50 percent more refined carbohydrates, and 4,000 (not a typo) percent more high fructose corn syrup than we did in 1970. And, ahem, chew on this: high-fructose corn syrup breaks down differently than regular cane sugar, metabolizing as fat that tends to be stored across the abdominal section. Kids aren’t getting what they need from the food they eat.
So serve protein like scrambled or hard-boiled eggs or sausage and a complex carb such as whole grain toast or buckwheat pancakes; yogurt and fruit smoothies with a spoonful of whey protein tossed in; or oatmeal with a little brown sugar, walnuts and raisins. In short, balanced nutrition helps balance brain chemistry, which helps many kids learn and feel better physically and emotionally.
2. Take the bus or ride a bike once a week. And teach your kids how, too. Mine ride the city bus from our South Minneapolis home to their downtown dance and music classes or to the movies at Southdale mall. They have “Go To” bus cards to which I add money periodically so they don’t even need cash. They know how to find a bus schedule online.
When your teens can get where they want to go by themselves, your schedule frees up, they develop practical skills that help them to be independent, and we all save a teensy bit of the ozone.
Other kids I know bike to school and around town daily — same benefits. Just, please, please, please, wear a helmet.
3. Seek inner peace. Experiencing a few too many George Jetson moments recently? (“Help, Jane, stop this crazy thing!” George would yell to his wife from the treadmill he couldn’t turn off in the cartoon’s opening sequence.) Maybe it’s time to recharge the batteries at church, synagogue, mosque, Friends meeting, Zen center — whatever spiritual or religious community feels right to you. Or, as in my case this past year, maybe it means stepping back from church activities in order to experience true Sabbath, that is, time to be rather than do. If you are rested and reminded of the big picture once in a while, you’ll be a better parent, partner, and participant in all the other things you do in life. Plus, kids need as many places where they belong as they can find.
4. Make a move out of your comfort zone. If you’re an urban dweller, pack a picnic basket or a Duluth pack and spend time at a state or regional park, a family camp like the YMCA’s Camp du Nord, or the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Leave the electronics and mirrors and fossil-fueled vehicles and malls behind. If you live in the country or the suburbs, plan a day in the city. Yes, there’s crime in some areas. But there are reasons many of us choose to live here. There’s lots to do and encounter — music, art, dance, history, people who may not look or dress like you or speak your language. St. Paul has the Minnesota History Center, the Science Museum, or the Fitzgerald Theater. In Minneapolis, check out Lake Street’s Mercado Central or Midtown Global Market, the Stone Arch Bridge and the Mill City Museum, or the May Day parade at Powderhorn Park.
5. Just say yes. Yes, I’ll read with you. Yes, your friends can come over. Yes, I’ll throw the ball with you. Yes, we can go for ice cream. Yes, I’m listening. Yes, I love you.
Kris Berggren is an experienced resolution-breaker who’s grateful for second chances.
