Resolute
On January 1, 2013, I vowed to take vitamins, walk, drink water, read, cook, stop picking my nails, shop less, practice patience, and travel. Re-reading that post I feel simultaneously defeated and relieved. Defeated because I didn't follow through on most of my resolutions. In fact, if I would write a detailed post about this year's resolutions, the list would be quite the same, but relieved because, in the scheme of things, it just proves it doesn't matter a whole lot.
Not that I recommend abandoning resolutions, but my resolutions tend to be proverbial drops in a largely trivial bucket. I did stop picking my nails for awhile and I loved them. I started again when the school year got stressful. I did take vitamins most of the year, until my doctor told me to stop. Some resolutions stuck, some didn't. C'est la vie.
But my biggest issue with resolutions is that making them and trying to stick to them and maybe failing to meet them becomes a marker for that year. A grade. I didn't follow through on my resolutions. I failed.
And that's just not true. Last year I got to see Abby graduate from kindergarten with excellent grades and commendations from her teachers. Jake moved to a new campus and was commended for his grades and accomplishments in Spanish. We adopted two kittens. Sam was a state finalist in the Texas PTA Reflections program. I got to sit with my mom and sister and watch the boys play and sing in their band. All the kids acted in a summer camp production of Peter Pan. Sam learned how to build robots out of old toothbrushes. Abby learned to read. I got up at 3 a.m. one August morning to send Sam off on his first week long sleep away camp. Abby learned to rock climb and Zip line during Y-Guides camp with her dad. We took a week-long family vacation. I jet-skied. Jake skipped three levels of hockey in as many months and can now skate like a boss. Sam performed in the Dallas Opera and on stage at the symphony - twice. I read 26 books. I started my third year of teaching Sunday School. Abby started ice skating.
It may not be the 'success' I envisioned in January 2013, but in January 2014, I'll certainly take it.
Not that I recommend abandoning resolutions, but my resolutions tend to be proverbial drops in a largely trivial bucket. I did stop picking my nails for awhile and I loved them. I started again when the school year got stressful. I did take vitamins most of the year, until my doctor told me to stop. Some resolutions stuck, some didn't. C'est la vie.
But my biggest issue with resolutions is that making them and trying to stick to them and maybe failing to meet them becomes a marker for that year. A grade. I didn't follow through on my resolutions. I failed.
And that's just not true. Last year I got to see Abby graduate from kindergarten with excellent grades and commendations from her teachers. Jake moved to a new campus and was commended for his grades and accomplishments in Spanish. We adopted two kittens. Sam was a state finalist in the Texas PTA Reflections program. I got to sit with my mom and sister and watch the boys play and sing in their band. All the kids acted in a summer camp production of Peter Pan. Sam learned how to build robots out of old toothbrushes. Abby learned to read. I got up at 3 a.m. one August morning to send Sam off on his first week long sleep away camp. Abby learned to rock climb and Zip line during Y-Guides camp with her dad. We took a week-long family vacation. I jet-skied. Jake skipped three levels of hockey in as many months and can now skate like a boss. Sam performed in the Dallas Opera and on stage at the symphony - twice. I read 26 books. I started my third year of teaching Sunday School. Abby started ice skating.
It may not be the 'success' I envisioned in January 2013, but in January 2014, I'll certainly take it.
posted by Romine Family at 1:56 PM
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