I had a very open-ended resolution for 2012. Last year, I resolved simply to "Do Better." You see, 2011 was pretty brutal in my personal life and I knew that those problems would carry over. So I threw out all the lofty "lose weight get in shape" goals and simply committed to doing better. To not only survive, but move forward. My writing was sparse, but I did my best to up my game in what I did write, and my two 2012 releases pleased me a lot. The Bacchi and Silver/Steel are both books I'm proud of. And for the most part, I managed my health and diet pretty well, falling into the occasional abyss of cheesecake and Twizzlers.
Yeah, some bad stuff happened, but I handled it for the most part.
2013 is looking somewhat better than 2012. I'm ahead on my writing, have an agent, and my mother is having surgery this week for a problem that's been plaguing her for quite some time. Hopefully her health will continue to rebound. My niece KJ has been accepted to a day program after being at home full time for 2 years. That gives me a five or six hour block of time every day that's truly my own.
This year's resolution is also open-ended. This year I want to work toward putting my house in order. Not necessarily my literal house (though that's on the list) but my virtual house. My finances, my career, my personal life. This year I want to move from temporary fixes to permanent solutions. Instead of scrambling to organize my receipts for the year, I'll log them as they come in. I can't stop the sun from roasting me in my office during the summer, so I've bought thermal shades. I'm tossing out the Medi-fast diet food, the miracle diet drops and am restocking the kitchen with healthy food.
So many of the problems that crop up in our lives are symptomatic of something else. I carried a feeling of uneasiness and depression for a long time, till I finally faced up to an overwhelming money situation. Once I addressed it and made arrangements to handle it, I felt a fresh lease on life. Better organization allows me to stay on top of administering meds for two sick people, social workers, dogs stuff and writing.
This is all part of getting my house in order. I want to throw out the quick fixes and get to the heart of the problem. If I'm unhappy, I'll search out the root of the problem rather than tossing a bandage (usually made of chocolate) over the wound. I expect this year's journey will involve some healing, some fence mending (not only in the dog yard) and more than a dash of humility. It won't all be easy, but then, if it was easy, it wouldn't be a problem, right?
So tell me, what are your hopes, expectations and goals for the upcoming year?
