If you want to be somebody, if you want to go somewhere, you better wake up and pay attention!

Ah, no matter how many times I heard these words come from Whoopi's mouth, yelling at those thug teenagers in Sister Act 2, it never dawned on me until I had a child how true they are. Funny, I remember my father giving me the same advice upon graduating from high school. He told me that the best advice his dad had ever given him, or that he could ever give me, is just two words. "Pay Attention." How simple these words are and though I have thought of them often since he dropped these pearls of wisdom, I honestly never figured out what they truly meant until recently. I realized that though I feel that I have lived my life, I realized it was purely because I had let life happen to me upon its whim. Rarely have I ever made my life happen! I've just been floating on a cloud my whole life, in my own selfish sky, never truly paying attention to anyone but myself (and, on occasion, my poor husband.) I want to do things because I've put forth an effort to do them, not simply because the oppurtunity arose. I want to expend evergy improving my relationship with Christ and Shawn, and I want to make time to go to the gym! I want to Pay Attention to my life! I want to plan things and make them happen! I want to do nice things for other people because I love them, and because I know what it would mean to me if I were in their situation! And I want to believe that consistency is good for me and for Lorelai...even if just in small doses. I want a clean house (and I'm getting there and excited about it!) and I want my only joy to come from loving and serving others- and I want to surround myself with others who have the same goals. I want my daughter to see these good things in me and immitate them. I want to Pay Attention to everything besides me. I guess that's my New Mother's Resolution (get it? instead of New Years Resolution?)

Katie

p.s. Other mother's feel free to let me know what your biggest New Mom Epiphany was!