Resolutions - Part 43

resolution |ˌrezəˈloō sh ən|noun

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin resolutio(n-), from resolvere‘loosen, release’ (see resolve )

A firm decision to do or not to do something : she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more | a New Year's resolution.• a formal expression of opinion or intention agreed on by a legislative body, committee, or other formal meeting, typically after taking a vote :the conference passed two resolutions.• the quality of being determined or resolute : he handled the last French actions of the war with resolution.

Ok, where was I? Oh yes! It's that time of year! Time to say I'm going to lose weight, try really really hard to stick to it, then soon notice on the calendar that it's Groundhog Day....woohoo! Let's celebrate with cake and chocolate and wine.... Yeah, I tend to fall of the wagon by February.

BUT!  That's ok... and you know why?  Because falling off the wagon does not signal the end, and there's no rule that says you have to discard your resolutions just because you ate a piece of cake.  2009 will mark a special anniversary for me - April 1st will mark twenty years of being a non-smoker.  Sure, I tried to make it January 1st 1989...lasted 3 days.  My mom, dad & I all tried quitting at the same time, but by January 3rd Dad went out and bought us each a pack...his way of saying "Not sure what's worse - smoking or bitching!"  Tried again Feb 1st... March 1st.... pretty much the same result.  Somehow April 1st worked for me.  Twenty years later I don't remember those initial failures, but I do know that I am a non-smoker. It worked!  What's the old proverb? "Life's a journey, Not a destination..."  Well, maybe that was Aerosmith, but my point is the only failure is when you stop trying.

So with that in mind, here are some of my New Year's Resolutions for 2009.....

• Lose weight:  Sheesh, this one's been done to death!  But I am happy to report that I am, in fact, down ten pounds from January 1, 2008.   Let's see if I can tack on another ten pound loss this year, and I'm guessing that by the end of 2010 I'll be wearing my old high school jeans again...well, actually college.  I was fat in high school... ;)
• Visit my parents at least once a week:  That should be a no-brainer - I mean, they are maybe 20 miles away, but still the procrastinator in me keeps putting off the trip, substituting it with a phone call.  I DO see them, just not as often as I should.  My sister, who lives closer to them, gets delegated to give them rides, take them shopping, etc.  They are not only wonderful parents and grandparents, but intensely interesting people, like most Depression-Era people are to me.  Oh, the stories they tell....
• Clean house:  No, really. I'm calling The Salvation Army today to see if they can come pick up that old bedroom set, a couple old tables...what they don't take, our friend Jeff The Rubbish Guy will take off our hands.  I've also started reorganizing my daughter's room - moving her toys upstairs so my living room, kitchen and family room don't look like a daycare center.  I started on my closet a few weeks ago, and now I have room to store the clothes I actually wear! Kitchen cabinets will be rearranged, small appliances will find permanent (yet accessible) homes, and my shredder will be going non-stop for the next few weeks.  I will hang pictures. I will donate clothing. I will have a guest bedroom that could actually accommodate a guest or two.  I will not use that ever-evasive "yard sale" as an excuse to hang onto things.
• Visit Ten New Places:  In my old age, I think I've become somewhat of a recluse.  Like I felt before our trip to NYC, going somewhere with a little kid seems like such a hassle...until you actually get in the car and pull out of the driveway.  So thank you, New York!  This year I will visit ten places I've never been before.  And no, driving through does not count.  In fact one of the places is Northampton, MA, which we've passed through many, many times, but I've never actually GOTTEN OUT OF THE CAR AND WALKED AROUND!  I also like to look at maps and either pick out an interesting name for a town, or perhaps a weird shape or bump in a border and I wonder, What is it like there?  There's this strange little square of Massachusetts that protrudes into Connecticut...I want to see what it looks like!  Anyway, to make things even more interesting, I hereby proclaim that THREE of these trips must be overnighters.  Let's challenge me, shall we?? ;)
• Read:  And by read, I mean books - novels, biographies, history, classics... I love reading and just never seem to do it any more, and when I do I usually have three books going at one time - one in my bag, one in the living room and one in the bedroom.  It can get confusing.  And the shame of it is I'm something of a book collector - I buy them off the discount tables, or at library books sales or book swaps and never actually dig into them.  So the first ones I'm going to knock off this year are four Sir Athur Conan Doyle books (Sherlock Holmes adventures) that have looked lovely on my shelf for the past 15 years or so, but have never been opened.  And I'm sure as I clean I'll come across a few more

Well, I think that's a good start!  I also plan on looking at my life list over on Superviva.  I think I forgot to check off "Write My Own Blog" and as of yesterday I can now offically say I've made homemade bagels.  If you're looking for ideas or inspiration, go on over to Superviva and maybe start your own list. Big or little, an accomplishment is an accomplishment.  P.S. Don't forget to add things you've already done!