Saturday, December 31, 2011

On the Eve of the New Year

“New Year's Day - Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”  - Mark Twain

People who make resolutions for the new year get sneered at.  This is somewhat unfair to my eyes.  Sure there are those who make grandiose resolutions who take no steps towards realization.  And there are those who try to take some giant leap forward, but only take a few steps and then fall back into old, comfortable behaviors.  Superficial pronouncements about self-important intentions.

Yup.
So what?

As for myself, though, I can't knock it if someone wants to pause at a mile-marker along the road of life and try to orient themselves.  I'm one of those people who treats the end of the year as a time to take stock of their accounts.  A to-do list, if you prefer.  Or consider it my mental house-cleaning.

God, this dog reeked
Is this the right road I'm on?  Is this who the person I want to be?    
I haven't got all the answers.  What I can do, on the eve of the new year, is check the slate for this year, and then scrub it clean for next year.  

Bobby does not prefer showering to bathtime

What have I done this year?  What will I do next year? 

Have I gone somewhere I've never gone before?  Done something I've never done?
I had never before been to (nor heard of) the island of Grand Turk, and it ended up being one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  


Governor's Beach

For our honeymoon, D & I went on a cruise, which was my first ever Relax-cation.  For me, vacation's had always been about seeing and doing as much as possible (to get my money's worth).  But the priority for the honeymoon was to relax.  I sat on the balcony staring at the ocean for what was indubitably an absurd amount of time, with nowhere to go and nothing to do, and utterly at peace. 

Loved the scooter!

Oh yes, I also got married for the first time.  Bought a home for the first time.  

Adopted a dog for the first time. 

Sit Pretty, Bobby!
 
Did I challenge myself? 
Not as often as I might have.   I completed some freelance contracts at night while working my day job to earn extra money for the wedding.  I organized a swing dance event. Tried my hand at dj-ing. 

Did I meet new people?  Make new friends?
Ahh.... not really.  Despite my best intentions. 
 
When we took Bobby to meet the parents' dogs, I wouldn't have bet on him warming the cockles of Tasha's grumpy heart, but darned if he didn't!

What were my goals for this past year? 
Ummm.... well I'm sure I had some.  Can't properly remember .... I think they mostly consisted of things such as:  Survive Wedding.  Remove Asbestos from Basement.  (Win) 

I think I wanted to experiment more in my dancing.  I wanted to strengthen my workout regimen.  (1 out of 2)

And next year?  
Just like this year, I don't want to take life for granted.  It's short enough, and I don't just want to coast on through it.  

as always, Go somewhere I've never been before
I'd been trying to talk D into going to either New Orleans or Seattle next year.  He was born in Seattle, but I've never been there.  I have an ulterior motive.  A swing dance motive.  Fleur de Lindy in New Orleans is during the Quarter Jazz Fest, and the Seattle Lindy Exchange is right around the time the Seahawks should be having some preseason games. Win-Win, I thought. 

But it looks like we may be doing neither.  

D's brother-in-law is stationed in Budapest.  
Not that we have the money to go to Budapest.  
Who does?
But still, we may end up going to Budapest. 

Do something I've never done before
I hope to hit some Lindy events I've never attended before.  And re-live some old favorites too.

I hope to succeed in my attempt to epoxy some freeze-line cracks in the basement.  

I hope to aggressively and defensively garden in our groundhog and deer infested neighborhood.  

 Make new friends, and appreciate the old


Doggy has cemented feline solidarity

.... or not
  
I hope the coming year is kind to you,  

And that you share the warmth and goodwill that await you.  

*mwah.