Start with Resolve

Last night I couldn't sleep, so one of the articles I ended up reading was this sweet, often funny, and insightful list of certain famous people's resolutions. I drifted off thinking of Woody Guthrie's desire to "keep [his] hoping machine running" (#19).  I just love that.  I need to keep mine running, as well.


Woody Guthrie's "New Years Rulin's", 1942 (from brainpickings.org)

This morning I was looking over the online class syllabus for which I will be a student (it's a class on how to be an online teacher - which is somewhat Through the Looking-Glass to me) when I realized that I definitely have goals I'd like to achieve in 2013. 

Here are some accomplishments I would like to add to my personal experience in 2013:

1. Buy a house.   You knew this would be at the top of the list!  Annie would very much like to be "Moving In" to a new home this year!
2. Write more.  I tried to write a poem for Emmie on the occasion of her 1st birthday, but it fell flat.  I also have about 10 fiction ideas I would like to get down on paper.  This resolution is always ongoing - perhaps I need to really attend a Writer's Group to extract the words from my head.
3. Professionally evolve.  I'm starting this one off on the right foot by taking that online class.  My hope is to become an online instructor this year for a couple reasons.  I believe that higher education will become increasingly technical and web-based, and I want to ensure that I stay current.  Also, if I can teach online I can avoid losing out on a semester of work in the future if (when!) I am on maternity leave again.
4. Fly on a plane without anxiety, i.e.: staying strong for my daughter's sake.  I know that I will be attending my friend's wedding in California this year.  I'm already freaking out about that first plane ride we will take as a family.  This is part of a much larger issue, tackling my inner demons and releasing them.  I don't ever want my daughter to feel fear like I do.
5. Let go of the little stuff.  Yeah, yeah, we all say we need to do this one.  But it would be extremely useful for me to enact this one immediately!  I can't even tell you how many time I've let my in-laws irritate me!  Why?  I just need to let it go.
6. Get in shape and be healthy.  Ugh.  So cliché.  I am standing up in a wedding in less than a month and do NOT want to still look postpartum.  This is serious.  The other day a friend joked that I looked like a certain famous actress "if she'd had a baby."  It still stings.
7. Learn to crochet.  How many of my lists has this been on?  But I just discovered that a nearby fabric store regularly holds beginners' crochet classes! I just need some free time and a willing babysitter...
8. Spend less time in front of a screen and more time outdoors or in a stimulating learning environment like a museum.  Unless, of course, I'm writing, working, or taking an online class.

That's a rough idea of what I want my 2013 to look like.  What are your resolutions for the New Year?  May we be successful in all our well-intended endeavors!