I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. It seems somehow cruel and unusual punishment to start a brand spanking new year with a lot of baggage already strapped on my back, expectations of how I should behave and things I should do and goals I have to work toward. I mean, really, it’s the first freaking day of the new year. I kinda would like to break it in a little, like new shoes, get the feel of it, decide whether or not it fits right or if it needs some soft padding or maybe to be exchanged for the comfy tennis shoes. Or something. [I just spent six hours playing with the g-kid. I have no brain cells left. Pretend that metaphor worked. Thank you.]
What I do like to do on my birthday, though, is reflect on aspects of my life that I see need improving. When I hear a description of me from someone that doesn’t fit, I won’t worry about it. But if I hear it three or four times, from different sources, then it pings, hard, and I force myself to take a steely-eyed assessment and see if it’s something that can be improved, and if I want to improve it, and if the answer to both of those is ‘yes’–then I work on how to accomplish that improvement. [Sometimes, I’ll hear the description and realize that it’s probably a flaw, but it’s a flaw I’m not gonna change, so screw it, because I’m comfortable with it. That’s the absolutely wonderful joy of getting older–you get more comfortable in your own skin, you have people who love you the way you are and you aren’t chasing some vague notion of who you might be when you grow up. I pretty much love the age I am, which is 48.]
One of the great advantages of the above plan is that my birthday is in the middle of the year, so I get to feel like I’m playing hooky from actual resolutions for the first half of the year. I reflect on the birthday, put some things into motion and usually have either accomplished those things or have gotten them incorporated into my life enough that I feel like they’re going to be successfully integrated, and by the time New Year’s rolls around, I’m relaxed about the whole “goals” thing. But in honor of the impending New Year approaching this weekend, I decided that I would give great thought to what my resolutions would be, if I were to make resolutions, and I realized that I had things I would resolve not to do. Herewith, therefore, is the list:
I RESOLVE:
- NOT TO become Supreme Commander of the Universe. I know, I know, there was a write in vote and everything, but after my hand cramped after much consideration, I realize that maybe the fact that I still cannot organize my pantry well enough to not have things in there that expired back when my oldest son was eight indicates that I shouldn’t be organizing anything on a global scale.
- NOT TO eat the chocolate I find in the back of the kids’ closet if it’s older than eight… er… ten… er… fifteen years. Okay, eighteen, but that’s my final offer.
- NOT TO hand the next passive aggressive bully their ass on a plate, even if they’ve baited me, even if they’ve drawn a big honking mofo target on their ass and wiggled it in public. I will rise above. I will be Zen, people, even if it kills me.
- NOT TO fling buggers at said person. But I’ll think about it.
- NOT TO become an astronaut, a physicist, or Angelina Jolie’s new BFF. (Well, I had to at least include one item that I could accomplish. I’m nothing, if not efficient.)
Okay, your turn. 😀
Since I won’t be posting again until after the first, I hope you all have a really happy New Year’s!
(And don’t forget the e-reader contest I’m sponsoring to celebrate Allison’s new release this week of LOVE ME TO DEATH — for a shot at a free Kindle or Color Nook, check out the blog from Tuesday to see the rules and go tweet!)
I’m not really creative at almost 6am of a night of no sleep. But I’m not a resolutions person. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever made a resolution before.
There’s one baggage I’m entered the year with, and I don’t like it one little bit. Last year, there was something really bad going on and I made a promise for things to get better. To a Saint. (Yeah, I know, I’m not religious, but when we’re desperate, we hang on to anything and everything, right?) Well, it was kind of an absurd promise, because, honestly, I didn’t think it would work. Apparently, someone thought it would be fun to pull a prank and make it happen. Or it was just a coincidence. I’ll never know. What I do know, is that now I owe the Saint to make good of my promise. And it’ll probably kill me. I even tried to make it REALLY specific (as in, if this happens like this and this and this, I will do that and that and that, but not like this, like that) (<– can't get more specific than this, right?). But, yeah, things happened exactly like this and this and this. And, though the that and that and that agreements I'd made haven't been reached yet, but I'm THREE months late to my promise and I'm pretty sure the Saint's getting pissed at me. So, yeah.
That's the thing I resolve not to do, ever, ever, ever, not this year, not in my life: I WILL NEVER MAKE ANOTHER PROMISE TO A SAINT. Because I have no idea if things would have been sorted out if I hadn't made the promise, but I sure as hell ain't riskin' getting in the Saint's black list.
(I don't even wanna know how much of a lunatic I sound!)
Well, then, missy, you better get crackin. You wouldn’t want one of those Saints after you. (grin)
[I figure anyone who actually made it all the way to Saint status was probably a pretty amazing person in real life, and was a forgiving person. I don’t think anything related to religion ought to feel like you’re in prison, or about to be. But that’s just my personal take on it.]
The only resolutions I make are for the Hubster. But, (and not surprising), this whole resolution thing is my blog topic today as well. 2011 gives me a lot of opportunities for fresh starts, though, since we moved across the country in April, and are pretty much starting everything from scratch up here.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
Good point, Terry — sometimes starting over from scratch can be scary as hell, but with such a positive attitude as you have, it can also be an amazing opportunity!
My resolution this year:
I will not date Brad Pitt, even though I know he secretly is tired of Angie and really wants to date short, fat, gray-haired grandma’s like me who are old enough to be his mother (at least.)
Carol, I love it. 😀
Love your twitter contest!!!!!!! Have a great new year 🙂
Thanks, Leagh! You, too!
I don’t do resolutions either . and my birthday is pretty much smack dab in the middle of the year too. Seeing how we have so much in common, I am going to steal you list cause it fits me perfectly . There, that was easy!
There ya go, good way to recycle! 😀
the one resolution i’ve made for next year is to do a little better with the personal hygiene on “work” days! No more picking my daughter up from high school in my pajama shirt and slippers – at 3 in the afternoon. I’m convinced I could get that shower in if I only try hard enough. 🙂
LOL. ohhh, if you only knew how many days I showed up at the kids’ school in jammies / holey yoga pants and mortified them. 😀 I think it’s a mom’s duty to mortify the kids every so often. That way, when you threaten to do something like show up in curlers and slippers at their prom if they even THINK about drinking, they will believe you.
I will NOT interrupt other people. I’m really bad at interrupting and I cringe everytime I do it, then still do it again. Maybe I’ll try the rubberband on the wrist trick. My friends can snap it everytime I interrupt them. LOL
Jill, this is one for my husband… and sometimes, for me, too. Especially if he’s been home a while (days off) and I get so used to his patterns, I start emulating him. It’s a really bad habit that he wants to break, too. I also have a friend who does this, and she and I have gotten in the habit of interrupting each other without even realizing it… and it’s hard not to transfer that over to other people! It’s a tough habit to break! I wish you luck with it. (At least you’re aware… loads of people aren’t aware of that sort of thing.)
The BIG ONE: Not to “bug” my 29 yr old son or his new wife as he considers a message on his cell phone.
Susan… LOL. Well, when my 24 yr old is considering messages in my presence, I tell him bugging him is fair game. If he wants to read something in private, then WALK AWAY AND GO BE PRIVATE. (This may be a pet peeve of mine. 😀 )
I resolve not to procrastinate . . . whoops, already broke THAT this morning. I resolve not to sweat the small stuff . . . ha! As MSW gals can attest, I’m stressing. . . .
I think I’ll resolve to remember that I’m not in this alone, that I have good friends who have stood by me in good times and bad, and that family still comes first.
LOL on the procrastination. It’s 1:30 here and I’m just now getting to email and MSW and then I have to finish the scene I didn’t finish last night and I ALMOST procrastinated and went to see TRUE GRIT today because that would be so much easier than writing this scene. But I want this freaking book finished. grrrr.
And you are right, through good times and bad, you’re never going to be alone.
Reward yourself with TRUE GRIT when you’re done. And I’m still in my pajamas, but it’s only 12:23 pm right now . . .
I don’t do resolutions—I know they will fall by the wayside.
That’s why I don’t do them, either, especially at this time of the year. After all the Thanksgiving and Christmas rush, I just want to relax!
I do resolutions….but end up not keeping them. I’m such a wimp!!!!
Valerie
in Germany
No resolutions this year since I never keep them anyway; I’ll just try my best!
I don’t (and I mean DON’T) believe in resolutions because I KNOW they don’t mean jack to me. I promise myself each year that I will do what I can, release myself from guilt for what I can’t, LMAO about things I messed up and just keep moving forward. Hey, it works for me so I stick with it!
Wait?!? You’ve turned down Supreme Commander? But…but…I voted for you. A lot!!!! And I wanted to be your Vice Commander because…uhm…hello? VICE!!!
Okay. My resolutions:
1) I hereby resolve to shower at least once a week when I’m on deadline.
2) And I’ll put on real clothes
first thing in the morning…erm…before noon…or…before dinner time. Yes, before dinner time.3) I won’t drink the last cup of coffee without asking and I will always brew another pot immediately. Because, uhm…coffee STAT!
Happy New Year to all the MSW gals, your families, and the awesome people who hang out here day in and day out!
Not hand the bully their ass? How is that Zen?
i won’t be keeping that one, no matter how much my battalion commander may wish it.
But I shall resolve in the spirit of things, to put a cuss jar in my company operations so that I’ll at least THINK about stopping swearing.
But no promises, people. I’m a soldier. Soldiers swear (hangs head in shame).