Goals, Not Resolutions

Resolutions are made to be broken. We all know this. The minute you mess up you give up. As in "I'm not eating sugar anymore" and then you do on the second or third day of January, so you just give up and eat any and every kind of sugar for the next 363 days until the next January 1st when you try again.

I prefer to set goals. Goals don't really care if you mess up a little. It just means that you forgive yourself and get back on track. So you ate that entire bag of chocolate chip cookies, it doesn't mean you get to eat a bag of chocolate chip cookies every day until next January. Goals are something that doesn't go away just because you stumble. And goals aren't set in stone. They can be revised according to what works. Goals are also the big thing you strive for but then you make little goals to help you along the way.

It turns out that I've been making the same two goals every year. I just haven't accomplished them.

I was going to post them but I decided my goal list was too personal for human consumption.

So instead I'll just mention that I'll be working on my health, my finances, and my writing.

Interestingly, six of my seven children will be reaching age milestones this year. 25, 21, 18, 16, 12 and 10. Only my 24 year old will not be having a significant birthday.

Other things to look forward to this year - My eldest son is getting married in March, in the Seattle Temple. Although I haven't met my new daughter, I have only heard good things about her and she seemed just right for him by my conversation on the phone. So, he's picked a great girl and he's marrying her in the temple. Isn't that what we as parents strive for?

I'm in a play this year. I'm playing a male marionette. Not only do I have to learn to move like a puppet, I have to do it as a man. Talk about a challange. I just watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with my youngest daughter and I pointed out Dick Van Dykes performance as a puppet while he's planning a castle escape, to my daughter. "That's how we're going to have to learn to move," I told her. Dick Van Dyke is brilliant with his body.

So there we go, two things to look forward to.

I've been having a tough time and feeling pretty down lately. I'm nowhere where I expected to be at this time in my life and certainly not since my divorce. It's disheartening but I rarely give into pity parties.

So I'm hoping 2009 will be better, different and offer something life changing.