I spoke in my last post about using the first of the year as a point in time during which we can assess the past year and look toward the year ahead. I do make a list of things for the coming year but I don’t necessarily look at them as resolutions.
Some might fit the classic definition of a New Year’s resolution, and I’m ok with that, but more are closer to goals and others might simply be considered “to do’s.” Regardless, I think it’s important to spend time thinking about what you would like to do in the coming year and having a plan for how you’re going to make those things happen.
It’s a long list and I know some of them might not happen. Life happens. Things happen that can keep us from accomplishing things we would like to do. That’s understandable.
As I look back on this list a year from now I’m not going to beat myself up if I didn’t get some of the things done… as long as the reason I didn’t get them done was because something happened to keep me from doing them, or in some cases, better opportunities come along. The plan isn’t written in stone. It can and should adapt to my life as the year goes on.
On the other hand, I will beat myself up with the only reason something didn’t happen was simply because I got lazy, procrastinated too much and simply lost focus on what it was I wanted to do.
With that, in no particular order, here are some of the things I’d like to do this year. It’s long, so hang on tight:
-- Finish my diet and then keep the weight off. Yep, your typical New Year’s resolution. The only difference is that I’m not starting the diet now, I’ve been on it for some time and I should be done in a couple more weeks. Believe me, being on a diet during the holidays is hell but it feels good now to know I’m almost done.
-- Finish the bathroom downstairs. When I bought the house, the plumbing had been run into the bathroom and drywall was put up on the walls but that was as far as the previous owners had gotten. I’d planned to finish it last year and put it off. Yes, this is one I’ve been beating myself up about.
-- Complete a couple of other home projects. I’m already part of the way down this path. A new front door was installed a couple of weeks ago. I’ll post about that later. I’d also like to find an old buffet to repurpose and/or build an armoire in my bedroom.
-- I have a large number of old albums I’d like to digitize and I want to transfer all of those old home videos over to dvd’s. I may not get both of these done, but I would like to check one off the list.
-- Read more, watch more movies, go to more plays. I don’t know what happen this past year, especially near the end of the year, but I got into a very bad habit of coming home from work and plopping in front of the television. I’d never done that before in my life and I’m really not happy that I allowed it to happen. I’ve always loved going to plays and watching movies, and I’m equally unhappy that I got out of the habit of going to those during the latter half of last year. (I’ve already watched five movies since the first of the year.) I’m a big magazine reader and have a stack of those sitting in the corner that I’ve also fallen behind in reading, so I have plenty to keep me busy.
-- Write more in my blog. In my defense, after I posted the Aha Moment video I really wanted to take a break from the blog and let that one speak for itself for a while. I just hadn’t planned on the break being quite as long as it’s been.
-- Go to see a Minnesota Vikings game at the Metrodome. I used to get to a game almost every year. It wasn’t always in Minnesota, but I did get to one somewhere. I haven’t been to one since Connie died. This one may not happen simply because the Vikings aren’t even sure right now if they’ll be playing in Minnesota next year. They’ve been fighting with the state to get a new stadium for years and now it’s down to the next couple of months in which something has to happen or they’re gone. If they are back in the Metrodome, I’d like to get back one last time just to relive some old memories.
-- Visit Darling Daughter, at least once, wherever she ends up in the fall. She’s looking at grad schools now and doesn’t know if she’ll be east, west or somewhere in between. Wherever she is, I want to go visit.
-- Take another acting class, a glass blowing class and maybe a drawing class. I’d taken an acting class a couple of years ago and planned on taking another, but allowed various conflicts to get in the way. I’m just going to have to commit to making the time for it. I was signed up for a glass blowing class late last fall but the instructor canceled the class. Too bad he didn’t tell anyone. The students showed up for the first day and he wasn’t there. I’ve found another place that gives lessons about an hour-and-a-half from here and hope to take a class there in the spring, when I don’t have to worry about snow getting in the way of driving there.
-- Continue working on my photography, focusing on learning some of the more technical details like how to use Photoshop.
-- I started getting into video a bit last year and I have an idea for a project I’d like to explore. I don’t know if it will work but I at least want to follow it through to the point where I’m either doing it or decide I can’t pull it off. You’ll have to stay tuned to hear more about that one, if it works.
Nope, that’s not everything. There are three or four more things on the list but, frankly, they’re a little more personal and I don’t care to share them with the world. Sorry.
One more thing, I think it’s all doable. Not only that, I'm hoping for some unexpected surprises. How much fun would it be if we didn't have those?
It’s going to be a great year.
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