You’ll find this same information on my “About” page (linked up there at the top), so if you’ve already read that, then this won’t be new. And if you’re reading this, then no need to click on that page. Got it? Part of being calmer is being efficient and avoiding redundancy wherever I can, yo. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. As promised in this post’s title, here’s what I’m telling you:

Among other roles, I am mother to three children under the age of five: one boy and two girls. In spite of my husband being one of the most mild-mannered people on the planet, two of our children (so far) appear to be sensory seekers and are in the throes of sibling rivalry, and I come from a giant family where it’s tough to get a word in edgewise. All of these factors combined, our home is, in a word, LOUD. It is also very cluttered, as we adults in the house are domestically challenged, and as it turns out, staying on top of things like dishes and laundry and whatnot is more difficult with three small people helping us create messes. And let’s face it: we’d rather play/read/anything-really than tidy up. We don’t live in filth, just disarray.

In 2013, I am returning to school to pursue a second third fourth career in nursing. I’ve been a birth professional for more than six years now, and I’m finally taking steps toward my long-term goal of becoming a nurse-midwife. To do that, I have to earn another bachelor’s degree (after having already been through graduate school), followed by another master’s. I’m finishing my last two prerequisites starting in January, and if I get accepted by my first-choice nursing school, I’ll start an accelerated bachelor’s program in October. The year ahead promises to be an adventure.

Clearly, there is a lot of real and potential chaos in my life. In order to survive it, I’m declaring 2013 The Year of Calm. I will no doubt continue to live with some level of chaos simply because my circumstances and basic personality aren’t changing anytime soon, but I’m committed to finding or creating at least one moment of calm in the midst of every day, and I’m documenting it here to keep a record of my successes and failures and to hold myself accountable, if only to myself. I hope that whatever strategies I employ to achieve this one resolution for the year will grow into habits of calmer living–more than moments, but ways of being. I want to be a calmer person. I want to live in a calmer environment. I want calmer interactions with my family, and perhaps even more importantly, with myself. I want my headspace and heartspace and just my space in general to be calmer, if not entirely calm. That’s it. Not even calm. Just calm-er. I can do that. No big deal, right?

Keep calm and carry on, as they say. It’s not just a meme anymore.