Keeping resolutions prove harder than making them

Monday, December 31, 2001

SIKESTON - Few would dispute that it's a whole lot easier to make a resolution than it is to actually keep it.

And many of us are living proof that diet and exercise are two of the easiest promises to break. So last New Year's Eve three Sikeston residents pledged to work on becoming better people.

Brenda Freed was determined to develop better time management skills. Her resolution was to be able to juggle work and the kids and still find time to spend with her husband, Mark.

Twelve-year-old Brittany Bohannon wanted to spend 2001 getting more organized and being a better listener, which she admitted wasn't something that came easily.

Then there was Mike Wilson whose goal was to set a better example for young people and be a better Christian.

And with a little work they all managed to keep their resolutions.

Although Freed said she did fairly well, she admitted, "there's always room for improvement." She described 2001 as a year of learning, finding out what steps need to be taken to reach her particular goal.

"We've limited the activities the kids can be in," she gave as one example. "They can play sports, but they don't have to play all of them. We had the boys choose which activities they really wanted to play, which meant giving the others, like piano, up."

Also, she began taking family and friends up on their offers to help out and gave her sons more responsibility such as taking out the trash and cleaning their rooms.

"You can always do better, but I'm happy with my life," Freed said. "I think we did pretty well with the resolution. I've learned that you don't have to do it all yourself and that both of you have to work together. My husband would help by taking the boys to practice instead of relying on me to do it. And by giving the kids chores to do around the house that freed up some of my time. I think my New Year's resolution for 2002 is to continue focusing on my family and to do even better this coming year."

Brittney, now 13, reports she, too, has found the solution to last year's problem. "When my closet gets messy (which it is right now because of Christmas) I clean it. I'm a little bit better at listening, too. For 2002 my New Year's resolution is to get along better with my brothers. Well, one of them. I think whenever he says something that's not nice I'll just ignore him."

And as for Wilson, 2001 was the year he found out being a role model and being a better Christian go hand in hand. "I grew a lot," he said.

Wilson said he spent more time reading the Bible and staying more focused, things Wilson said he enjoyed.

"The hardest thing is giving of yourself 24-7 and being available," he admitted. "You've got to give up some time which is really hard, but it's great in the long run. You've also got to find some quiet time. Pick up the Bible and spend five or 10 or more minutes with God. It all fits in together. You can't just say look at me, I'm a good role model, you know what you've got to do and you know what the right thing is. Just try to be the best you can be."

Wilson said his New Year's resolution is to make even better his resolution from last year. "I am going to streamline my time better. You can't do two things equally well if they both take the same amount of time."

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