For two years I have faithfully kept up this blog, which was at one point a resolution on its own.  Now, what was once a goal has now become a therapeutic ritual that keeps me tuned into the events of my life so that I can document and reflect upon how they have impacted me.  I like to think I continue to evolve as a creative writer, but even if I haven’t, I at the very least have a two-year journal, documenting some of the best times of my life and the lives of my children.  So, for as much as I am not a “resolutions” type of person, I am good with goals, especially when they can reap these types of reward.

As we head into the next. I decided to turn back a few blog pages to re-read whatever it was I stated last year and, thankfully, I held true to my own personal commitments and it got me to thinking about what the goals I have for the next twelve-months might be.  A few things came quick to mind, some are already in the works, while others came to me only now, during my reflecting of all that 2023 brought to the doorstep.  And even though I have new goals, I don’t want to abandon my old ones.  Just because we achieved a year of date nights, therapeutic support and a weekly blog, shouldn’t mean those things can now go away.  Instead I see them now as part of a very healthy and satisfactory routine that I look forward to upholding with the same cadence and dedication as had been experienced for the past 365 days.

Last Year’s Achievements

• Get Another Tattoo – check!
• Attend the Writer’s Festival – check!
• Explore Therapy – check!
• Write Another Book of a Different Nature – half-check…not really…but kind of…you’ll see…
• Go for a Date Night Once/Month – check!
• Learn 10 New Magic Tricks – check!

This Year’s Goals:

Take an art class

I appreciate art and have wished I could draw and express myself through this medium with some level of talent, and, well, I can’t.  I don’t believe that an art class is going to change that, but I do think it could teach me some technique to further my appreciation, as well as provide me with a new form of therapeutic retreat.  I have registered for classes in the Spring, and I am quite looking forward to sharing the results…however they might look.

Travel

That’s a broad goal, but my kids are getting older now and certainly know how to read and navigate the internet, so if I were to get more specific then the kids may stumble across this post too early and spoil the surprise we have in store for them.  Suffice to say, our goal is to end up in a place that rhymes with Shmisney Land.  We have the dates, the locations and the plans picked out…and I am perhaps more excited now than the kids will be once we tell them.  There’s even a Dr. Seuss-themed park to explore!!!!

Practice Patience

This is my word of the year for 2024, and it is my goal to practice it in all facets of my life.  Be it parenting at home, being kind to myself at work, or reducing my penchant for impulse buying, I aim to slow down and allow space to breathe.

Reduce (not eliminate) Sugar and Sweets

I am not so unrealistic as to say I’ll be able to, or even want to completely cut the occasional indulgence of Swedish Berries and Sour Cream & Onion Ruffles from my diet,  but I can certainly take better strides in not having them in the house (or my desk drawer) quite so often.

Go Camping with the boys

A tradition started during the college years, which we kept up until life became a scheduling nightmare, albeit an understandable one.  It has now been a few years since we’ve set up our tents and fallen off the grid, and we are far beyond due to carry on the traditions of not catching fish, smoking cigars, and playing too many hours of cribbage next to a campfire.

And on that sweet note I will leave it; it seems an achievable list of goals, yet still leaves room for more should I decide to expand (another tattoo perhaps?).  I’m ready for you, 2024.  In fact, I quite look forward to what we will bring each other, including a bonus day in February.

Here is to wishing each and every one of you a very, very happy new year and all the best during this leap year!