2010 officially arrived for me on Monday, January 4 – a little late as that is my usual and BAD habit! But, come on, who REALLY starts resolving on January 1? The EARLIEST I’ve known anyone to make that move is January 2nd, and that’s ONLY if it falls on a Monday. So I DON’T consider myself a late starter.

Looking BACK ~

Before launching into my dreams, visions, aspirations, goals, and RESOLUTIONS for this new year AND decade, I do need to scribble a few lines about the past year. That’s rather a tradition, too, you know – recapping events of the past 12 months.

My favorite recaps, read the past week or so, were “Dave Barry’s good  (bad) year in review,” “Best of 2009” by Tiffany of Would Be Writers Guild, and Ann Cannon’s “My year in review” from her blog The Writer’s Corner (and Also What I Ate Today. These 3 year-end examinations helped me appreciate ’09 – Dave’s analysis of the infamous year reminded me that laughter abounds in bad times. Isn’t that something? Finding humor in darkness is one of the amazing attributes of mankind, don’t you think? Reading and laughing my way through his column made me feel much less depressed about the state of things. Thanks, Dave.

Tiffany and Ann’s reviews demonstrated that finding humor in the best and worst of times happens on small stages as well as in huge arenas. (Sorry about slipping in a Dickens’ cliche’, but that particular line is so often applicable!) Tempted as I was to recapture my year in a similar fashion – month-to-month highlights – I realized I needed to record reflections that would amp me up for the new year; rev me up for resolving; push me into doing better.

You see I am a sucker for making resolutions – A LOT of them. I think I subscribe to the “shotgun” approach to resolving: throw a bunch out there and you’re bound to hit SOMETHING.  With that in mind, I am listing a bull’s eye or 2 or 3 that I managed to hit last year.

In 2009 I …

• started SERIOUSLY blogging, as evidenced by this site!
• posted 30 times in November via NaBloPoMo!
• put together a 500-piece puzzle of the  Lehi Roller Mills with a little help from my son. (I’ve had that puzzle on my shelf for 5 years as a deterrent against Alzheimer’s disease.)
• got a camera so I can post MY pictures on my blog instead of trying to pass off Flickr photos for my grandchildren.
• reconnected with friends and family as I never have before. (Okay, I joined FaceBook.)

All right, I don’t actually remember making resolutions related to the above achievements, but I am sure that somewhere in my subconscious I said, “Self, you need to write your personal history … by BLOGGING.” Or, “Self, have you FORGOTTEN you want to start a holiday tradition of completing a cute puzzle worthy of framing?” Now I know these aren’t the most important changes to make, but I realized that they inadvertently accomplished good things: lots ‘o writing improves writing; putting puzzles together with sons builds relationships; commenting on cousins’ FB entries keeps communication flowing.

Looking FORWARD ~

So, what are my 2010 resolutions? I thought about going with “success guaranteed” goals: I will NOT start smoking or drinking; I WILL continue eating. Instead, I realize I need to redirect my goals with the idea that resolving to accomplish a few things in one area will bring about results in another area. Let me give you and example.

I resolve to keep my precious PT Cruiser clean by NOT eating while I drive.

Can you see the beauty of this resolution? If I don’t eat while driving, I won’t mindlessly graze, which adds pounds, Pounds, POUNDS!! Maybe keeping my car clean will help me LOSE weight!

Here’s another.

I will get to work on time by taking the stairs instead of wasting time waiting for the elevator.

I’m sure you can guess that shaving off minutes to get to my desk on time will FORCE me to get more exercise. This is INGENIOUS, don’t you think? I can tell you are skeptical, but check back with me around Valentine’s Day – the date when most resolutions have lined the path to hell, as Mark Twain observed – and we’ll see if I’ve fooled myself into completing the 2-4-1 goals I subconsciously hope to achieve. In the meantime, good luck with your own resolutions!