Monday January 5, 2009

abstinent \AB-stuh-nuhnt\, adjective:abstaining, especially from self-indulgence

Ok, I laughed when I read the word for today. Clearly I am not "abstinent" in the most commonly understood sense of the word as I have four children!

I wonder if the editors at dictionary.com plan these words according to some greater plot or if it is random. But for me, and maybe others, it's a good word for the beginning of a new year and the resolutions that tend to come with it. I have plenty of self-indulgences that I am not willing to part with - like my morning coffee from Starbucks that I sip as I sit here and type. Seriously, it has been such an ingrained (and needed) part of my routine that my children look a little weary if they've noticed that I have not had my coffee yet. It's nothing fancy - just a regular coffee, not a complicated 15 word espresso drink ( i.e grande, extra hot caramel macciado with half 2% milk and half whole milk, one splenda, no whipped cream, but drizzle the caramel on top ) but the coffee - I.need.it. No abstaining going on there.

But there are other things that I think are worth giving up, or trying to, at least. For example, I must kick my late-night habit. I tend to savor that time in the evening (and generally extending late into the night) when all of the children are asleep and I finally get a moment without hearing "Mommy" every thirty seconds. I know that sounds like an exaggeration. But scroll up to my lack of traditional abstinence, and it will no longer sound as far-fetched. It is the time of day when I really feel like I can truly relax and focus on something for more than a few minutes without interruption. But I must learn to abstain because I've noticed I'm getting too old to survive on three hours of sleep. The cold, hard fact of life, I guess. But you know how it goes with resolutions - I got three hours of sleep last night. This abstaining thing may take some practice.