2009

We are at the brink of a new year, and I can feel the weight of all that brings with it. Hopes and expectations and ponderings clutter my head. Rather than create a list of resolutions that I know I will never keep, and will therefore result in disappointment, I instead choose to lay on the table a list of possibilities, probabilities, roughly sketched goals, and other ponderings. This is what tumbles out at this hour:

1. Neater closets
2. Less cluttered desk
3. Two children who will sleep through the night
4. Carter in pre-school
5. More reading for pleasure
6. More free time outside
7. A vegetable garden in the backyard
8. A girls' trip with my sister and mom
9. Less time picking up toys
10. Learning to play a new song on the piano
11. Less worry about others judging me
12. Focus on the joy, not obligation, of giving gifts
13. Forgiving myself for the parenting mistakes I will inevitably make
14. Trad leading at least a 5.8 (climbing jargon)
15. Cameron walking and learning his first words
16. Finally feeling like my body is really mine for the first time in four (!) years
17. Giving away more junk to Goodwill (this complements number 1 nicely)
18. Carefully choosing my battles, and being confident in my decisions
19. Living the philosophy of the serenity prayer
20. Learn to cook a new favorite dish
21. Eat more vegetables
22. Eat more fresh, unprocessed food
23. Model the act of giving on a regular basis for my children
24. Find time for more yoga
25. Accept that I will not meet all my expectations for 2009, and that's okay

There are the 25 that seem to come to mind at the moment. What thoughts float around in your head on such a day? Cheers to a new year.