Irresolute

This is the time of year when writers and bloggers make fun of New Year’s resolutions. I know. I’ve done it myself in this very blog.

It is human nature, of course, to think that an artificial border between one year and the next will provide us with a new start for our old habits. I firmly resolve to avoid the near occasions of chocolate. I firmly resolve to learn a foreign language. I firmly resolve to find a new lover/friend/dog in the new year. I firmly resolve to stop telling my couch what to do. Etc. Etc. Ect.

But as my son’s mother (who is a therapist) pointed out to me on the phone last Saturday (we have weekly calls to keep up with each other and talk about our son) , there is no reason to wait for Jan 1 to change your life. If you need to lose weight, you should start immediately and not on Jan 1. If you need to dump your abusive mate, you need to call the cops now and not wait until that person gets drunk on Jan 1 and continues the abuse. If you need to start working on your musical instrument, there’s no time like the present.

Each year I spend New Year’s Eve sitting at my kitchen table and writing in a book I set aside specifically for New Year’s entries. I have been doing this for many years, but only got the notion to keep them all in one book in 2002.

Still, the last 20 years of these entries is instructive. Especially the part where I set out my “goals” for the coming year.

One year I had four pages of goals! The weird thing is that I actually did some of them.

This year I set aside only a page of goals, and they were things like “Keep writing” and “maintain my health.” Oh, and “Stay Alive.” It says something about me that I have to keep reminding myself to do that.

One more goal: Try to write in the blog once a week. I’m at 75% on that right now. Let’s see if you and I can improve on that.

Happy New Year, my 12 friends who subscribe to this blog.