Ten Things Tuesday

The New Year 2008 Edition!

I went back to revisit my New Year’s Resolutions from last year (there were only five of them - New Year’s Eve was a Sunday last year so I didn’t feel compelled to make it to ten) and discovered that I missed on a few of them, but hit on others. I didn’t do so great with the exercise or the fully completed house (the upstairs bathroom is still entirely incomplete), but I made some good strides with the more important resolutions of making more time for my friends and my children, and of getting organized. I’ve still got work to do on these, of course, but I’d give myself passing grades for last year’s goals.

Here are ten things I’d like to work on - or continue to work on - for 2008.

1. Be a better wife, mother, and friend. I’ve always made the people I love a priority in my life, and I’d like to continue that trend. I want to spend more time with my husband and children or, at least be more mindful in the time I do spend with them. I miss some people who live far away (WeedWoman, Kizz, Mrs. BoBo, Dudley) and some who live right across town (or, in the case of Auntie, halfway across the state), and I’d like to be able to enjoy more time with these important people. I want to take advantage of every chance that presents itself for me to be with my friends - and even to create chances if I have to. If it’s possible, I’d also like to meets one or two of my bloggy friends in the real world, too.

2. Establish a housekeeping routine. I’ve got a fair bit more house to tend to now, the unfinished bathroom notwithstanding. I want to work out a schedule whereby I get to the important chores on a regular basis, so I never have to feel as though the jobs are more than I can handle. I’d rather do a little bit every day than try to do it all once a month. I never like the feeling of being overwhelmed by a ton of little jobs.

3. Eat more healthily. Since I’ve proven that I kind of suck at getting to the gym if I’m not required to be there, I need to make up for that by not partaking in quite so much junk food. I’m already starting this as a habit - we’re eating at home a lot more than we used to - but I need to be a bit more mindful of it. Sooza had mentioned not too long ago that she needed a healthy eating buddy, and I think I’m ready to take her up on that. Ordering pizza is, of course, much easier than prepping, cooking, and cleaning up after a home-cooked meal: I really am a very good cook, I just need to not be quite so lazy.

4. Save money. I’m earning money now, and I don’t want for our expenses to rise to meet the level of our income. I’d like to put aside a substantial portion of my salary (such as it is) in an account for rainy days, Christmas and gift expenses, vacation money, that sort of thing. Just a couple of dollars out of every paycheck will make a difference, and I plan to set that up when the banks reopen.

5. Schedule more do-nothing time. I very often feel super-busy, and I don’t make much time to decompress and reset. I think I need that. I’m trying to put aside a few minutes a day for mindful meditation - Cicely suggested taking a few minutes just after we wake up for a short meditation - and I think it’s important enough to work on making a habit out of it.

6. Be kinder and more compassionate. I’ve been working on this one for a while, and I think I’m getting better at it, but it’s worth putting here just so I can keep it in the forefront of my mind. I’m taking Gandhi’s “Be the change you wish to see in the world” to heart. It frustrates me that people fail to see how important we are to each other - how we belong to and are responsible for, and to, each other - and I’m going to continue to hold myself to the standards I want to see everyone else demonstrate. I will look more for the light in people, and let mine shine a little brighter while I’m at it.

7. Keep learning. While I’m not going to be an official student this semester (I was hoping to start chipping away at a Master’s in history, but I’ve put that aside for a bit in favor of sending Mr. Chili to architect school), I am going to seek out as many workshops, symposiums, conferences, and classes as I can. I’ve been accepted as a fellow to a summer program on teaching the Holocaust put on by Really-Not-Local College, and I’m very excited about that. I’ll tell you more about that opportunity later, but suffice to say that I’m going to be spending a fair bit of my energy this year being a better student and, by extension, a better teacher.

8. Continue working for tolerance. I’m planning on expanding TCC’s Gay Straight Alliance to be more inclusive of all kinds of diversity, and I’ve got some really enthusiastic support for that from both my coworkers and the students who joined the fledgling group last semester. I’m hoping to pull in as many different groups as want to join, and to put on some fun activities and events. I’d also really like to inspire some of my students to become more politically aware and active, both through the GSA and in my classroom. I’m more than a little frightened by their apathy, and I want to try to instill in them a sense that they not only are a part of the process, but that they’re a vital part.

9. Continue to organize. I made some pretty decent strides with this resolution last year: my kitchen is put together in such a way that I can get to pretty much everything I need with minimal fuss; almost all of the papers, stories, and handouts I use for my classes have been put into my new filing cabinets; all our books, CDs, and DVDs have been catalogued in the library software that Mr. Chili bought for me, that sort of thing. I’ve still got a lot more work to do, though; the basement is a disaster, which means that doing laundry is harder than it should be, I can’t get to sewing supplies, and retrieving seasonal stuff is a challenge. I also want to get a system set up for Mr. Chili’s tools (or, more accurately, I should say that I want to encourage him to get a system set up; the choice of how that goes is all his). I need to make a couple of changes in the garage, too, to make getting to things that are kept out there a little easier.

Part of this resolution also involves the continued purge of things that no longer serve us. GoodWill has been the recipient of some nice stuff that we just don’t use, want, or need anymore, and I’m betting that I can find a fair bit more to donate in the coming months.

10. Love more. It’s so easy to get all caught up in competition and drama: pre-teen Punkin’ Pie, apathetic students, my mother-in-law, stupid drivers. My getting worked up about this stuff doesn’t help the situation any and, in fact, hurts me. I’m going to try to be mindful that my faith tells me that every challenge is a gift that I can use to become a better me, and I’m going to work harder this year to recognize that more often.

Happy New Year to all of you. I hope that 2008 is filled with love and growth!

images courtesy of PostSecret