Half Starts and Trail Offs

It may be a New Year, but the Christmas tree is still up

Jan 18

MeredithUncategorized a promise to myself i might actually keep, the birds nesting in the walls of our house are causing little avalanches, toast with jam and tea is nice 1 Comment

I’m not sure I’ve ever made a New Year’s resolution; not a real one anyway.  Perhaps in random conversations about such things I’d chime in with a “yeah, I need to get more exercise,” or “being more organized sure would be nice,” but I never really meant it. Then this year, for some reason, I became particularly vehement in my refusal to resolve. What was the point? What made the beginning of the year the time for that, anyway? And it’s not like anyone ever sticks to their resolutions–I particularly like to set myself ginormous tasks, no matter the time of year, then berate myself as I crash and burn because they’re unachievable.

But then my friend Jason surprised me with his 2009 resolutions recap. Instead of grandiose promises, he’d set himself goals that were realistic and measurable. So this year, instead of resolutely breaking my resolutions, I’m making myself a few small goals. And sharing them with you.

1. Clear out my respective inboxes, get them to zero unread messages, and keep it that way (When I decided on this goal, my Gmail inbox alone had 350 unread emails languishing away. At this writing, I’ve gotten it down to 36 unreads.)

2. Go for a walk at least twice a week. Even just a short one around the block. No matter the temperature or how insanely busy and stressed out I am during my last semester. And not because I need to lose weight, even though I do. Because walking gives a time for solitary contemplation.

3. Clean up the craft room in January. As I finish my final semester of grad school, I’m going to need a clear space to create.

4. Clean up the craft room in May. Because in finishing grad school, I will have made a complete wreck of it all over again.

5. Open an Etsy shop, even if it’s not till June (I’ll need time to recover from all the book making). Even if I only have 5 books to list for sale. Do it anyway.