See. Hear. Welcome to 2008.

It's mid-January but I am still making the transition to 2008. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to turn the page to a new year. Both 2006 and 2007 had their share of wonderful highs, but lower lows. Family developments (in that larger quadruple-decker sandwich-generation way) have taught me that, #1, family is precious, #2, family obligations of all kinds are the great underestimated work of life, and #3 if you are a Mom, wife and daughter, you had better get work done while you can when you are fortunate enough to be experiencing a period of stability.

So I am hoping for a calm spot in 2008, please, though I know that none of this is in our control. The good news on the Mojo Mom front it that we are bringing back The Mojo Mom Podcast, this Friday if all goes as planned. (If we get hit by an ice storm tomorrow, as is in the possible forecast, that may throw us off.)

Thank you to all our amazing podcast fans who have encouraged us to keep producing the show. Your emails mean a lot!

So that covers "Hear." I have been thinking a lot about "Seeing" lately as well. As a writer, and as a Myers-Briggs ENFJ, I can get caught up living in my head or in the world of possibility, rather than the real world. As a burned-out Mom over the past few months, I've sort of been ignoring some issues that are right before my eyes, like a household mess that had gotten out of control. This denial has a function up to a point (I did all I was "supposed" to do yesterday, and I was exhausted) but for my family's sake, I need to make family life a bigger priority. I am a big fan of Montessori education, which relies on a prepared environment as a foundation, and I know home will never match that experience in its order, but I need to inch forward in that direction--enlisting family help along the way.

First I am just opening my eyes to what I see at home, the physical environment, the work flow, the relationships with my daughter and husband. Before making drastic changes I am spending time to take it all in.

Somewhat ironically, the family caregiving pressures have helped me put housework in perspective. Instead of being dramatic about out, letting it hang around my neck undone, I am starting to think that it's just easier to try to stay on top of it and then don't worry about it so much. We'll see how that goes!

Seeing reaches into every area of our lives. It blends into awareness, consciousness. Do an internal survey: How am I really feeling? What emotions am I stuffing down, placating with potato chips, or ignoring? How can I safely explore and express strong emotions without flying apart all at once? What bad habits have crept in during a stressful time? How can I make sure that January 2008 is not the first step in a long decline of "letting myself go?"

In other words, it's one of those times when this Mojo Mom has to take her own advice.

Resolution for 2007: Be a VERB

I want to send out a quick welcome to new Mojo Mom blog visitors. Today I was a featured expert in the MSNBC.com article Baby Makes 3: How Kids Rattle Friendships by Sue Kidd, which has brought a lot of new traffic to my site. So if this is your first time reading my blog, welcome. I had a great interview with Sue for the article and I recommend it to all my blog readers.

I'd like to propose a New Year's Resolution for all Moms, which is to resolve to take action in our lives. Growig up from a girl to a woman, we are socialized in so many ways to be passive rather than active. We wait, we hope, we dream. Then one day we wake up and wonder why we have been waiting for life to come to us rather than going out to get it. We might think we came up with this idea on our own and blame ourselves for being so passive. If we're lucky, we realize that we were taught to be this way and that we can also come to a new understanding of ourselves as actors in our lives.

I saw actress Helen Mirren on 60 Minutes last Sunday, and at age 61, she is as thoughtful, courageous and well-spoken as anyone could be. She told the story of growing up in a working-class seaside town, sitting on a park bench looking pretty, hoping a producer would walk by and discover her.

But now, years later, she is in the driver's seat of her life. She is still growing into herself. I remember seeing Mirren win her Emmy last summer, and during the award show the original Charlie's Angels actresses also made a reunion appearance. Remarkably, the "Angels" are almost the same age as Dame Helen. But while Kate, Farrah and Jaclyn were trying desperately to look like they were frozen in time in their 1977 beauty, Helen was saucy, sexy and gorgeous--silver hair, eye-smile lines and all. She's the one I who inspires me when I think about being 60.

So let's all resolve to live as VERBS this year. What can we do to take charge of life, to find our voices, and make ourselves heard? What important changes do we want to make happen in the world?

Are you looking for inspiration? Right now I am working on a "curriculum for life" for Class of 2007 college graduates, and I've been thinking about 5 books I'd wished I'd had in college...but are never too late to discover. These are books that you most likely won't find on a college syllabus but will give you vital information that will help you in life:

The Motherhood Manifestso: What America's Moms Want--and What To Do About It by Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

How to Avoid the Mommy Trap: A Roadmap for Sharing Parenting and Making it Work by Julie Shields

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker

Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute by Jack Chapman

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Feel free to post your resolution in the comments section. Sharing your goals with the world makes them real!