New Year's Resolutions
I know you all haven't heard much from me lately; my thoughts have been more brooding than I've admitted to folks recently, including my LJ readers. Then this is an excellent time for a year-in-review post!
2009 Resolutions:
1. Return to my gym habits.
Status: kept, mostly in the second half of the year. My body feels much better than when I wrote last year’s entry, and not just because I had food poisoning at the time. And I’ve lost at least 6 lbs., but that doesn’t matter.
2. Make professional progress, even if this just means moving from Inquiring Candidate status to Certified Candidate status.
Status: Kept! I’m now a Certified Candidate. :o)
3. I will work on my relationships with my mothers.
Status: kept… yes and no. I haven’t called Kathy regularly or emailed her, but I’ve called my mom regularly. Progress is slow. But at least we aren’t going backward.
4. Get out of this plateau with my grades and raise them.
Status: kept! In 2009 I had two consecutive semesters with no B’s, all A and A-. This is really impressive, given the difficulty of BU and my program.
5. Work on my marriage: consciously work on reversing negative trends; strive to go to bed at the same time as Stephen whenever I can; have a better final 6 months of this formative year than the first 6 months. Have fun together!
Status: kept! We’ve had a good year. Our anniversary sucked because of my being gone for Grandpa’s funeral, but the rest was good. We did have fun, and I think we’re getting better at problem solving. And I’m going to bed at the same time… just not getting up at 6:15. ;o)
6. Bring an agenda to therapy.
Status: not kept. Still not to the bottom of anxiety issues… sigh, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to leave therapy. I’ve been figuring out a lot of things, but there’s much left to do. And I need to be more structured.
7. Continue relationship and spiritual success in school.
Status: kept! I’m now the president of CAUSE, our social action group, and keeping up with most of my friends and their parties. Yet I can still work on this, because I spend a lot of my time at home with Stephen. That’s not a bad thing. I've continued to go to Sabbath Space and attend chapel regularly, thanks to a fabulous group of Seminary Singers!
8. I had a couple of "unofficial" resolutions which I developed later in January and again in May: eat better and keep the house cleaner.
Status: kept. Last January I made a 3-week rotating schedule of meals with 4 dinners each week. I created a handy cookbook by printing out the recipes and shopping lists for each week. No matter who shops, we know what we need. Now, a year later, I have revised this rotation because Stephen's work schedule has him back at bedtime 4 days a week. I've found easy and nutritious things to cook twice a week, with leftovers on the other two days. Also, the house is cleaner. Booyah.
Now for 2010 Resolutions... I made these last night as I was falling asleep. We'll see if I can remember them.
1. Survive the transition out of grad school and into "the real world." This one's pretty self-explanatory. Get a job. Avoid a nervous breakdown.
2. Knit more, and help Stephen with the children's book he's illustrating. I need to not put off my hobbies.
3. Keep on singing, no matter what. Now is not the time for my spiritual discipline to flag.
4. This may very well be my last year and a half in Massachusetts- live it up. Enjoy living in the city, for all its trash and grime and fumes; go to the Robert Frost House and the Pirate Museum and the Cape.
5. Build my relationships with my blood family and chosen family members who support me. Take time to appreciate having Stephen in my life.
Now that my resolutions have been made and my cabbage and pork dinner eaten, it's time to settle into a new year and a new decade. Life may not get better, but it can get sweeter, if I notice that the glass is half full and kiss my husband every day. For now, as an update as to the status of my soul, this poem:
Of Course - I prayed -
And did God Care? He cared as much as on the Air
A Bird - had stamped her foot - And cried "Give Me" -
My Reason - Life -
I had not had - but for Yourself -
'Twere better Charity
To leave me in the Atom's Tomb -
Merry, and naught, and gay, and numb -
Than this smart Misery.
~ Emily Dickinson
2009 Resolutions:
1. Return to my gym habits.
Status: kept, mostly in the second half of the year. My body feels much better than when I wrote last year’s entry, and not just because I had food poisoning at the time. And I’ve lost at least 6 lbs., but that doesn’t matter.
2. Make professional progress, even if this just means moving from Inquiring Candidate status to Certified Candidate status.
Status: Kept! I’m now a Certified Candidate. :o)
3. I will work on my relationships with my mothers.
Status: kept… yes and no. I haven’t called Kathy regularly or emailed her, but I’ve called my mom regularly. Progress is slow. But at least we aren’t going backward.
4. Get out of this plateau with my grades and raise them.
Status: kept! In 2009 I had two consecutive semesters with no B’s, all A and A-. This is really impressive, given the difficulty of BU and my program.
5. Work on my marriage: consciously work on reversing negative trends; strive to go to bed at the same time as Stephen whenever I can; have a better final 6 months of this formative year than the first 6 months. Have fun together!
Status: kept! We’ve had a good year. Our anniversary sucked because of my being gone for Grandpa’s funeral, but the rest was good. We did have fun, and I think we’re getting better at problem solving. And I’m going to bed at the same time… just not getting up at 6:15. ;o)
6. Bring an agenda to therapy.
Status: not kept. Still not to the bottom of anxiety issues… sigh, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to leave therapy. I’ve been figuring out a lot of things, but there’s much left to do. And I need to be more structured.
7. Continue relationship and spiritual success in school.
Status: kept! I’m now the president of CAUSE, our social action group, and keeping up with most of my friends and their parties. Yet I can still work on this, because I spend a lot of my time at home with Stephen. That’s not a bad thing. I've continued to go to Sabbath Space and attend chapel regularly, thanks to a fabulous group of Seminary Singers!
8. I had a couple of "unofficial" resolutions which I developed later in January and again in May: eat better and keep the house cleaner.
Status: kept. Last January I made a 3-week rotating schedule of meals with 4 dinners each week. I created a handy cookbook by printing out the recipes and shopping lists for each week. No matter who shops, we know what we need. Now, a year later, I have revised this rotation because Stephen's work schedule has him back at bedtime 4 days a week. I've found easy and nutritious things to cook twice a week, with leftovers on the other two days. Also, the house is cleaner. Booyah.
Now for 2010 Resolutions... I made these last night as I was falling asleep. We'll see if I can remember them.
1. Survive the transition out of grad school and into "the real world." This one's pretty self-explanatory. Get a job. Avoid a nervous breakdown.
2. Knit more, and help Stephen with the children's book he's illustrating. I need to not put off my hobbies.
3. Keep on singing, no matter what. Now is not the time for my spiritual discipline to flag.
4. This may very well be my last year and a half in Massachusetts- live it up. Enjoy living in the city, for all its trash and grime and fumes; go to the Robert Frost House and the Pirate Museum and the Cape.
5. Build my relationships with my blood family and chosen family members who support me. Take time to appreciate having Stephen in my life.
Now that my resolutions have been made and my cabbage and pork dinner eaten, it's time to settle into a new year and a new decade. Life may not get better, but it can get sweeter, if I notice that the glass is half full and kiss my husband every day. For now, as an update as to the status of my soul, this poem:
Of Course - I prayed -
And did God Care? He cared as much as on the Air
A Bird - had stamped her foot - And cried "Give Me" -
My Reason - Life -
I had not had - but for Yourself -
'Twere better Charity
To leave me in the Atom's Tomb -
Merry, and naught, and gay, and numb -
Than this smart Misery.
~ Emily Dickinson