Unresolved...

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.

~Anaïs Nin

Ugh. Each year, by this time, I'm already too burned out to even think about making (much lesskeeping) a New Year's resolution. Think about it: we've spent the last two months planning, cleaning, cooking, hosting, feasting, drinking, buying, wrapping, decorating, and doing it all over again, with barely a moment to rest in between. A New Year's resolution? Are you kidding me?

Sure, like you, I'm excited about the hope that a New Year brings; the tabula rasa is important for those who need to make resolutions that add up to simply being better people. For someone like me, however, whose resolutions are daily, the thought of coming up with one big habit-change to discuss at New Year's parties and in small talk at the water cooler, is akin to pinpointing my favorite band or movie, which changes with my mood.

Among the list of favorite resolutions taken from facebook posts, these were appealing, but again, it's like a weekly grocery list to me. I know what I need.

Eat healthier.

I'm all for this one. I'm already a health-conscious cook and foodie, but by this time of year, I'm actually craving more veggies. The thought of one more sugar/butter/chocolate-laden cookie makes me a little nauseated. Sure, I'll bake a ton of them and give them away, but I'm no longer excited about the taste-testing.

Spend more time with people I love.

Sure. This is always a good one.

Get organized.

Duh.

Work out more.

This isn't a bad one, although it should be: find a partner who inspires you to work out more, rather than the other way around. I'm pretty tired of always being the one to suggest the workouts, and working out on my own is fine, just not as fun.

Having come from a family of Filipino/Irish that can't go a week without bugging each other and catching up, I'm always amused when I receive the yearly family newsletters from Dan's side of the crew. Didn't we all just see each other at Thanksgiving, and then again at Cynthia's annual birthday gathering, just two days before Christmas? Don't we all have facebook accounts? Maybe these curriculum vitae are actually intended for the far-away, shut-in members of the family that no one gets around to seeing during the year, and we just happen to be on the mailing lists. Maybe getting around to see those family members could be a New Year's resolution for someone to make.

In the meantime, to supply an answer to the inquiring, I think my resolution will be to learn more sign language. Ya never know when it'll come in handy.

Get it? Handy? Nevermind.

Happy New Year.