New Year’s Resolutions 2020

 

To resolve or not to resolve, that is the question. One of many questions, anyway. Can you even make new year’s resolutions after a year like 2020? Is there in wisdom in that? Is that just wishful thinking?

Resolution Number One: Go to the gym more. 

SNORT

Resolution Number Two: Travel more. 

SNORT

Resolution Number Three: Go back to not making New Year’s Resolutions. 

DING! DING! DING!

My “normal” M.O. is to not rush in to making any rash resolutions and wait until about February before actually committing to any plan of action. I like to have time to consider all the draw backs, downsides, and unintended consequences. Before I leap into the abyss I like to give it a long, hard, look.

I should probably treat my Amazon shopping cart more like a resolution. Maybe if I spent more time considering the ins and outs of buying a cat water fountain, or 36 rolls of washi tape-- based on the complete works of Vincent van Gogh and available with FREE SHIPPING—FREE! SHIPPING!--  before I tossed it into my shopping cart...

Not my cat. My cat HATES the fountain. 
But the shipping was free...

But no—Amazon shopping is amazing. I’m always so surprised to see what I bought. Every day is like my birthday—Look! Tempera paints for the grandkids! With matching brushes! Kraft Lime Cilantro salad dressing by the gallon—what? I really LIKE it! I’m already on my third gallon.

So delicious! So low calorie!
And free shipping!

 And some of the stuff I buy I really NEED—like printer ink, and a white noise machine that mimics all the sounds of the rainforest—because being fully rested is IMPORTANT. 

Then there are the books... “Where the Wild Things Are,” and “Harold and the Purple Crayon” share space in my cart with” Harriet Wolf’s Seventh Book of Wonders,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” I highly recommend ALL of them. Five out of five stars.

Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to go google “101 things to do with washi tape” and see if I can live up to my resolution to “Use the Stuff I Buy on Amazon.”

Look how pretty!

One Little Word

Once upon a time, in a Life I used to live, I was a Scrapbooker. I was a Taker of Pictures –the real kind, not with a phone; the kind you get printed out and place in an album. I was a Keeper of Memories, writing things down, a Curator of Life.

Funny thing, Life. It often changes. Sometimes when I’m not paying attention, sometimes even when I am. So, for a variety of reasons, both the expected and the unexpected, my life changed and I’m not much of a Scrapbooker anymore. At least not actively.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m great at making New Year’s Resolutions and sticking to them—provided I don’t make them right around New Years. My resolutions seem to have better staying power if I set with them awhile first, think about them, try them on for size. For that reason, I’m nowhere near ready to commit resolutions to paper—or to whatever the internet is made out of-- either.

I am ready to commit to One Little Word however. According to fellow Scrapbooker Ali Edwards, (Ah! THAT’S why she was blathering on about scrapbooking!) One Little Word is a word chosen to “focus on, to live with, to investigate, to write about, to craft with, and to reflect on as (one) goes about...daily life.”

One little word. That concept really resonates with me. After all, it’s on a single, highly personal word. How hard can it be? That’s the beauty of it. It can be as simple or as complex and you make it. The further you go, the deeper you dive, the more you explore the word you’ve chosen-- the more life changing it can become.

Sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and make list of words that inspire: Action, Breathe, Connect, Discipline, Engage, Flourish, Gratitude, Heal, Joy, Listen, Mindful, Nest, Pause, Quit, Routine, Soar, Thankful, Whittle, Yes. Find one that resonates with you. In the past, I’ve chosen Attitude, Rise, Savor, and Discover.

This year, the word that is speaking to me is More. I want more; to appreciate more, to give more. To write more love letters, to savor more sunsets, to walk more, dance more, create more---I want MORE. My resolutions—when I get around to making them-- will have “more” in them.

Who knows? Perhaps I’ll even scrapbook more.

Resolved 2018

2018: a brand-new year, only used a couple of days, still has that hopeful smell. January is a time of new beginnings, a calendar full of fresh pages. It’s that time of year when I am chocked full of good intentions and eager to put them into practice. Early in January anything seems possible and my list of resolutions can be impressive—I plan to be a much better person; one that leaps tall buildings in a single bound, fits into the jeans she wore in 1979---San Francisco Riding Gear if you must know, SIZE SEVEN; a person who-- while working tirelessly for world peace-- still finds time to be kind to small animals and whose junk drawers are an enviable example of organization. Basically, a human unicorn—something that is nice to think about but probably doesn’t exist. But in January, all seems possible. Perhaps it is the leftover Magic of Christmas that is still spicing the air, I don’t really know why, but I do know it’s way too easy to get carried away and make rash resolutions.

My true resolutions don’t usually come to light until about mid-month, it seems to take me about that long to narrow down what it is I truly want to change/accomplish. Interesting side note: STOP PROCRASTINATING has never made my resolution list—just never got around to it, I suppose.

I spend time in January thinking about what I like, what I want and what I can do to make that happen. If I jump in too early I find that what I think I want or want to change, isn’t the actual problem. For example: one thing I’d like to do is “Go to Yoga”. It would seem simple to set that as my goal. But after spending time reflecting I find out that “Yoga Going” isn’t really the issue. The issue is WHY I don’t go. Yoga starts at 9 am on Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning is also deadline day for this column. If you know me at all, you can already see where the problem might lie. Turns out, my TRUE New Year’s Resolution needs to be less “go to yoga” and more “write Garden Gate BEFORE Tuesday morning.” Yoga going will follow as soon I solve the procrastination problem.

And I will.

Soon. I just need some time to think about it first. In the mean time my junk drawer is alphabetized—which means I now refer to it as my Drawer, with Junk: A through Z.

Happy New Year!