New Year, New Promises, New Challenges

Another New Year. It's odd to think the New Millennium (the REAL one) was ten long years ago. Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future, right?

I am a Resolutionist! I know many people who pooh-pooh the idea, but I think it's a marvelous time to mark new beginnings--no matter how well you fare at them. New beginnings can start anytime, but there is something particularly appealing about them coinciding with a brand new year, where you can say months later "Oh, I started/stopped/changed that at the beginning of the year."

For the first time in my memory, I've already got a jump on several of my standard resolutions and am excited to keep up the momentum. It certainly makes things a little easier.

• Every year I always vow to get in shape at the very least. To that end, I'm three months ahead of the game, having started with a personal trainer on on Oct. 1, 2010. Check. (I even got some compliments over the holidays with people remarking that I looked great and had lost weight.)
• Integrate writing in my daily life--at home and at work. Well, though not as prolific as I'd like, this blog is part of that one. In addition, I'm still working on my NaNoNovel and project with some confidence I can get the first draft done by end of January. Check-ish.
• See friends more regularly. 2010 has been a challenging year for my husband's health. As a result, he of course, became (and still is) my first priority, but as I am getting acclimated to the "new deal", in addition to giving him the best possible care, I want to reconnect with my incredible network of friends. Check-in-progress.

2011 will no doubt present its share of challenges for me and us--as it does with most of us--but I'm learning to take things as they come. Celebrate the victories--no matter how small they may seem--and not to get overwhelmed by the challenges. Sometimes when I feel a little "overdone" or "undone" or "done-done" I remember Dory's famous words from "Finding Nemo" and I "just keep swimming." And sometimes I repeat it over and over again. It's like Yoga for idiots, but it works.