Resolutions, Part 1

I've always believed New Years' resolutions were pointless, for many reasons.  Typically, we set ourselves up to fail.  Resolutions are either too abstract or too rigid.  Here's my favorite resolution for the abstract crowd:  "I want to lose weight."  Wishful thinking, at best.  My dad has a crude saying, but it's true: "Wish in one hand, crap in the other, and see which one gets full first." Without any plan at all, we'll spin our wheels, try this and that with no consistency, and never see results.

And for the rigid crowd, are you really going to expect perfection from yourself every day for the next 365 or 366 days?  You resolve to start something you have never done, or have never done with any consistency, and the first time you slip, you give up.  Don't worry, I'm preaching to the choir here.  I WILL read my Bible for an hour every day, I will not EVER eat dessert again.

We can't do it!  By either of those two extremes, we set ourselves up to fail.  Well, not this year friends.  I haven't made resolutions in the past, and I don't intend for my first year to be a flop!  Scott and I have been talking about our goals for the coming year for several months, and some of them are going to change throughout the year.  Some of them are not such a big deal, nothing life-changing, just our plan for the year.  Others, I'm terrified to announce, because we don't know completely where we're headed, and if my mother reads this post, she'll freak out.  Freak. Out. 

Here's the easy stuff, things I love to plan for.  I make terrible "resolutions", I guess, because it's more of a to-do list.

HOME
Touch up paint in E's room - January
Finish painting A's room - January
Build wall/install door for S's room - February
Paint S's room - February
Sandblast/paint S's bed - February
Add flower beds to the front yard - March/April
Add furniture/plants to kids' deck - April/May
Paint our bedroom - June
(More to come on home plans, but we thought half a year was plenty, for starters.)

HIKING
Fairystone/Mines - March
Wild Oak Trail - April/May (depending on weather, 3-day backpacking trip)

Mt. Rogers/AT Hike - early June (depending on the rhododendron blooms)
Dragon's Tooth - July
Cold Mountain/Mt. Pleasant Loops - August
Rock Castle Gorge - September
SB6K Peaks - Clingman's Dome and Mt. Collins
Print Photos from each hike to hang in office

TO BE CONTINUED...