Before going into the goal setting
business for the new year, it's always good to look back at the year
past for perspective. 2013 burst at the seams. It
was complicated. It was messy. I did things that scared the frell out
of me. It set things in motion that will change our lives forever.
I keep trying to look at 2013
objectively, trying to find simple phrases to sum it up, but it is
not working. The biggest news is that I fell in love. We started
dating one year ago New Year's Day, and I resisted falling the way a
Gladiator would fend off an onslaught of lions. It didn't work, and I
fell. As with an onslaught of lions, I got gnawed upon along the way.
You can't fall in love and remain unscathed.
In March of last year, in the throes of
being in love, I realized that I needed to make some choices if I
wanted to move forward with this new and important relationship. I
went through my phone and Facebook to purge all the contact
information for every person who ever broke my heart. I'd been
trapped in the Phantom Ex loop with too many guys for too long, and
it was time to put an end to it. I did, and I feel better. Again, it
felt complicated and painful, but it's not really. It's about
simplifying.
Maybe that should be the focus this
year: Simplify. I'll keep that in mind as I'm writing
this year's goals.
Other things that happened this past
year: We lost our lovely Beast kitty to cancer. Matt and I held him
in our arms until he drew his last breath. Beast purred until the
moment his heart stopped, leaving this life as he lived it, a giver
of love and comfort. Katrina and I traveled to Europe and Big Bend,
and got paid for our photography and the story of our trips. My new
boyfriend and I jumped out of a plane, climbed mountains, kayaked
rivers, and drove all over the state of Colorado. I said goodbye to
the best group of students I've ever taught. My first group of
students, including my amazing student teacher, graduated from high
school.
Professionally, things are complicated.
I'm unhappy with the state of our education system. I love to teach,
I love my students, but I feel that I'm not really teaching. More and
more, I'm a remedial reading teacher, when my focus in eighth grade
should be writing and literature. It's too much to illuminate here
because I could get seriously bogged down. I will say that Katrina
told me in October that she feels if I don't change professions soon,
she feels this one will kill me. Not literally kill me, she said, but
spiritually. My daughter is ever-astute.
Which brings me to another passion, one
I've neglected in 2013. I wrote almost nothing all year. Until
August, when I wrote a travel article about cruising the
Mediterranean, I had written perilously little. No poems for Poem A
Day, no NaNoWriMo, no fanfiction, nothing. My novel languished
untouched. Finally, in December, I wrote two chapters on The Single
(Dating) Mom and another travel article about Big Bend. This is
definitely something I need to remedy in 2014.
Enough, then, with the review; let me
get down to business. Simplify, dammit! Simplify.
Personal Resolutions
Travel – We rocked on this
goal. We wanted to take a Mediterranean cruise, and we did. This trip
was not as carefree and poignant as London, Paris, New York, or
Glasgow. We struggled with spending money the whole time, an issue that didn't trouble us much in previous trips. I'll just say that
nothing—and I mean nothing, not even water— is free on a cruise
ship. Another thing – the airport in Italy is a nightmare within a
nightmare. The only good that came of the riot we endured (Not
kidding here; we were trapped in a riot) was that of 500 angry
travelers, only my fourteen-year-old child kept her head and tried to
find a solution. It taught her that she truly is as exceptional as
we've been telling her all along.
The trip wasn't all bad, though. We were
up all manner of mischief in Rome and Pompeii, we lived like queens
in Barcelona, and had dinner with strangers in Amsterdam. We also
swam with octopus in the sparkling waters of Dubrovnik. So we did have our moments.
In addition to our Mediterranean trip,
Katya and I went to Big Bend with our family, and Aaron and I went on
an epic road trip to Colorado. I feel like my feet never touched the
ground all summer long.
This year's travel goal combines work
and travel. We want to go to South Korea. There's more to this, and I
can't go into it fully for various reasons, but this one's going to
be enormous. As I told Aaron today, I've never dreamed a dream so big
before. He said, “Yes you have. You just haven't realified one this
big yet.”
In addition to this, Katya has goals of
her own. She is going to Boston alone for four days in April, and
then will spend a week in New York for a screenwriting workshop in
June. Big, big plans for our intrepid travelers.
Television and media – So last
year, I mentioned that we've supplanted TV with social media sites,
particularly Facebook and tumblr. This is true, but I don't know yet
if I'm going to set goals to limit them. The only thing I need to be
aware of is that the hours I spend on tumblr and Facebook could be
better put to use writing or doing research for travel. I'll just
resolve to be more mindful of my time.
Reading Goal – Ye heavens, I
love this goal. It's the one solid thing I've got. This is the fourth
year running that I've upped my game in reading. In 2013, I read 46
books, meeting my goal. In 2012, I read 42. In 2011, it was 40. This
year, I'm aiming for 50, which will bring my life total to 512 books.
Health Resolutions
All right, this year, I did something I
did not believe possible in the health category. I ran a mile in 6
minutes and 28 seconds. I ran a 5K in 47 minutes, and a 10K in 98
minutes. I started a Plan with goals and strength training. It was
awesome. Until... November kills my workout schedule. Every year, the
time change throws everything out of whack. I become a lazy, carb-hungry grumpy Mama who only wants to sleep and watch re-runs of Buffy.
So it's January now, and I'm going back
to my Plan. That, plus the Paleo diet and my
health goals will continue as they had last year: maintain, be
healthy, work out, and run. I've devised a monthly goal system based
on the number of times I run and work out. This continues to be
successful, so I'm keeping with it. I'll try to post results here, too.
Career Resolutions
I
already mentioned that I did not write last year. I did get published
and paid for writing, though, so that's a step up. This year, I need
to explore the possibility of self-publishing Reprieve.
I also want to encourage Katya to write more and find some place to
publish her stories, poems, and songs. She's old and savvy enough to
begin this process on her own, especially since I suck at it. Truly.
Summary
So last year, I
mentioned in my summary that I had not been particularly fearless in
2012. Therefore, in 2013, I vowed to follow Neil Gaiman's advice to
take more risks. Well, as they say, be careful what you wish for.
Life was a tilt-a-whirl, and I went for a wild, wild ride. I was less
agoraphobic, less neurotic, still a cat-marm, and I've still managed
to wear the letters of the keys of my new Lappy's keyboard. The
comfort zone has narrowed and may soon be nonexistent.
Am I happy? Yes. I
am happy, in a different way from two years ago. I think back to the
summer of 2012, of all those hours resting on the front patio,
dreaming and dreaming of love and creativity and far-off places. Life
is fantastic and my imagination is bursting.
So here we go once
more into the breach:
- Travel – South Korea, Boston and New York for Katya
- Be more mindful of social media usage
- Reading – 50 Books
- Fitness – Continue the Paleo life, continue running, continue Nerd Fitness
- Writing – Write on, ever on. Self-publish? Maybe?
Happy New Year,
Everyone. May 2014 be blessed!
No comments:
Post a Comment