I don’t really make resolutions on New Year’s anymore. I did as a teenager and as a young adult, but I haven’t in years. Don’t get me wrong- I love the new year. I make sure that all of my Christmas stuff is put away (except for the manger scene, which I keep out until the 5th of January) and that I have a new journal ready to go. Oh, and that my house is clean and my closets are all organized. I love to start the new year feeling organized and ready for new beginnings. I try to start fresh and have new goals all of the time, not just at the first of the year. I guess I do try to get over any holiday over-consumption I might have indulged in, and I try to be hopeful that all of my organization and neatness will last all year, but no real “change your life” resolutions. My life is pretty solid at this point and I really do try hard every day to eat right, stay active and make the right decisions.
This past year ended rather oddly, in that I spent the last four months of it with an injured back that we are still working on and experimenting with. Just last Monday I went in for the third time for a block (actually he stuck me in four places this time) but it has already mostly worn off, so who knows what is next. I have gone back to yoga and walking as much as possible. I really am not sure where we go from here.
Tim is about to embark on a new adventure- he has ordered and will soon receive a new machine that cuts metal, so that he can make signs, gates, doors, etc., precision cut out of metal. I myself hope to have a new front door as soon as Tim has practiced a bit! Jon has a new job, and although he has a few kinks to work out as well, I feel hopeful that he has found a place to stay and be happy for a while. We have even started driving around looking at possible houses for him.
As for me, I hope to review more plays, appear in a couple of plays (I hope) and teach a little bit. I want to relax a bit more this year. My son Jon is very smart and he has a practice that I plan to take to heart as well. He is a very hard worker, and like me he gives 100% to everything he does. But when he is off, he is off! He has what he calls “neked days”! He isn’t really naked, he just doesn’t shower or dress for the day. He wears sweats and takes the day completely off. No talking to people, no going out of the house, just total relaxing, doing what he enjoys, watching sports or playing video games. I think we all need more “neked days”. I have tried to adopt this habit and if I have anything resembling a New Year’s resolution, it is to have more “neked days”. (My days off always seem to include laundry, cooking, dishes, vacuuming, etc., but as long as I am at home and in comfy clothes I am OK with that!)
It is strange that I really have nothing planned for the new year. A possible trip, a few classes, no particular play I am excited to be in, no grand scheme up my sleeve. Maybe my resolution should be to sit back, relax and enjoy life. See what happens, don’t set out in a frenzy with all of my plans mapped out. Just see where the wind takes me. Relax and let life happen, it will anyway. Take the time to enjoy whatever comes my way, to smell the flowers and soothe my aching back. I can already tell you this is a resolution doomed to failure- it just isn’t me to be calm and go with the flow! But maybe I can try to be a tad more mellow! Who knows, maybe I can actually learn to relax!
