Resolutions

I am not big on New Year’s resolutions. They are almost always recipes for failure. But I have a few ideas this year that are not so ambitious that they cannot be achieved.

1.  Commit to, and carry forward, the lessons of my NaNoWriMo experience.

I got a lot out of NaNoWriMo in 2014. More than I expected; more than just the sloppy first draft of a short novel. I got so much out of it that I had to blog about it twice: here, and here. So, okay, it’s January 5th and I haven’t written A WORD in weeks but I am thinking. Contemplating. Ruminating. And when my kids go back to school tomorrow, I will dive back in. I have a plan. And motivation. And I know I can do just about anything, having beaten that NaNo novel into submission.

Boo-yah.

2. Read the books in my house before bringing in more.

I’ve already failed at this one, since I’ve got three bright, shiny library books on the table over there just waiting to be read. But! Bright shiny new books!

Seriously, though.

There are dozens of books in my basement and dotted around the house that I own or, worse, borrowed from friends. Some of these books I’ve had for years. And I HAVE NOT READ THEM.

This is the year I will remedy that situation.

3. Donate the books I don’t read anymore.

And when I’m done, I will get those books, along with other books on my shelves that I’m just holding onto for various reasons, off my shelves and into someone else’s hands.

Making room for more books. Mwah ha ha!

4. Read a classic.

When we leave school, we tend to leave off the kind of challenging reading we were forced to do there. See, there it is in the word “forced” as in, “I’d never read this book if someone weren’t making me.” I’m no fool, and I understand that I will never, ever read “Moby Dick” no matter how many times people tell me that it’s amazing and well written and… whatever it is. Nor will I read the seven million pages of “Les Miserables” or “War and Peace.” I just won’t. But there is a great benefit to reading challenging works that stretch us outside our usual zones of comfort and complacency.

This year, I will read “Middlemarch.” My background in literature is light on weighty Victorian novels. Plus, a few years back a woman named Rebecca Mead wrote a memoir called “My Life in Middlemarch” which was well reviewed and which caught my interest, but it seems pointless to read the memoir without reading the novel first.

5. Buy new makeup.

Yes, this one seems frivolous, but it’s necessary. I don’t wear makeup every day, or even once a week usually, but still, a woman needs certain basics and I had a vague idea that they should be replaced from time to time. So I checked, and Holy Maybelline, Batman! I am overdue. My most recent purchase of eyeshadow was for a wedding I went to enough years ago that they are already divorced and moved on to other people. I was so proud of myself for replacing my mascara last year (the previous one was probably three years old at that point), and now I find that I’m supposed to replace it every three to six months! So, yeah, it’s time for some new stuff.

What are your goals for this year? What are you excited about accomplishing? Let’s do stuff together!