Eyeing the new year
For most people, the New Year means resolutions. The turning over of a new calendar leaf just begs us to start over, to make changes, to strive to be better. Maybe it’s quitting a habit, or maybe it’s starting a new one; anything can happen.
I have a sort of wishy-washy take on resolutions. My approach is more of a, hey, let’s try this or that instead of a resolute all-or-nothing. For some people, this is back-dooring myself into weaseling out of a commitment to myself, but for me it’s a more realistic approach. I know that if I say, for example, that I will not drink coffee for the entire month of January I will fail by 2 p.m. on January 1 and then spend the next week feeling bad about myself. If I instead say, I would like to drink less coffee in January, I will think about it each time I want coffee and choose to skip an afternoon pick-me-up here and there. (The example, by the way, is ridiculous: Who gives up coffee? I mean, seriously? Ha ha ha.)
Anyway, here is a list of things I would like to be aware of, going into 2017.
Last year I read something about including more art in our lives, and I actively sought out live performances, art experiences and museums. This year I would like to continue that goal. (The SRJC puts on plays/musicals, and then there’s the SRT each summer, too) I also have wonderful art supplies that I want to dig into – watercolors and acrylics, especially – and I have an awesome camera that would love to be used more often. Last year we explored the museums in Calistoga and St. Helena, so this year I want to get in some Sonoma County sites.
I read a lot already, but I came across a list or two of challenges that inspired me to stretch out of my usual ruts. For example, pick a book that is written locally; pick a biography of someone you admire; pick a non-fiction book; pick a book out of the new section at the library; pick a genre you don’t usually read; pick a book you read in high school; pick a book solely by the color of the cover, or that it’s by a favorite author, or by recommendation of a librarian, bookstore, or even Amazon.
This next goal comes under self-improvement, so it’s going to look a lot like everyone else’s resolution; I’m just going to be more forgiving of myself if I don’t do it perfectly, all the time. I wear a pedometer as part of a health insurance program through my husband’s job. When you hit 7,000 steps you get a smiley face, and when you hit it again you start a running total of the number of days in a row that you met that goal. Last year I got something like 87 days in a row and then accidentally left the pedometer at home when I went on a scrapbooking retreat. Streak over. I want to aim for triple digits. I know I can get more total steps in for the year, too, because 1) we didn’t have the pedometers until mid-to-late January last year, and 2) I don’t have surgery scheduled for 2017, God willing, and 3) I have a baseline to try to beat.
Another goal that is similar to a lot of people’s is organization/decluttering/cleaning. I have a lot of stuff. I don’t need that much stuff. Going through the stuff sometimes unearths other pretty cool stuff – like stumbling on pictures from high school in a box, or coming across art supplies I forgot about, or discovering something I thought I had lost years ago. I don’t have a hard and fast rule about number of boxes, but I have given myself permission to watch Netflix as I go through them, so I like my chances.
Bottom line? I’m going to strive to improve, but I’m also going to take it easy on myself in 2017. Is that a resolution? Hey, I think it just might be. Happy New Year.
Juliana LeRoy wears many hats, including wife, mother, paraeducator and writer. She can be spotted around Windsor gathering material, or reached at ml****@so***.net.
