My Anti-Resolution

Happy Freaking New Year! Let's try that again ... Happy New Year everyone!

I’m not much for resolutions. In fact, I’m not sure I have ever made a New Years Resolution. I don’t understand the benefit of setting myself up for complete and utter failure that way.

This year I’ve approached 2009 a little differently. I still resolve to absolve myself of resolutions (did you follow that?). However, lately I’ve found myself focusing on taking a different path in many facets of my life. I just haven't been able to wrap my mind around exactly where this path is going. As long as the path heads south, far away from the snow and cold, I’m pretty much game for taking it.

The other morning when I was getting ready, I looked at this picture in our house, much like I was noticing it for the first time. Immediately, I realized that all of these plans, organization, purging, and goal making I’ve been focused on suddenly made sense. I’m on a path of simplifying.



So, instead of making a New Years Resolution, I’m making a New Years Word. Let me introduce you to my friend Simplify. I’m getting warm and fuzzy feelings thinking about her, so I hope she sticks around and keeps me company for awhile.

I’m not exactly sure what direction simplification will take me and I am okay with that. Maybe it will be my first attempt at wetting my toes in the spontaneity pool again. It’s even more attractive because it is a start to 2009 that I think I can keep on track with for more than a measly week.

If I knew what my journey towards simplifying meant, I would share it with you. But, like any un-well laid plan, errr, I don’t know. Now, THAT is profound! However, I do know what simplifying does not mean:

… a closet haphazardly strewn with clothes, yet nothing to wear. Something tells me in might be time to part with some of my clothing from 2005, even though it will feel like chopping off my appendages with a butter knife. They will never fit right again. Repeat it again slowlllly and mean it this time … they will never fit right again.

… a basement full of boxes that haven’t been unpacked since we moved in here four years ago. If we haven’t missed it in four years, it likely needs to find a better home. Yes, even those gifts of events-past that I’ve felt too guilty to part with.

… an email inbox with 19 pages of unsorted, unread, and unanswered emails. If one of them is yours, I’m sorry. Chances are I lost it around page 17.

… reorganization of my home office area. There is NO excuse for incurring a late-fee charge on my credit card this month. Did I have the money? Of course I had the money. Did I realize the bill was due? Nope, it somehow got loss in the abyss of paperwork on my desk. I kid you not. In fact, I’m embarrassed to even write this, but you know things are bad when you are so busy, disorganized, and exhausted that you just don’t pay a bill.

… a 3,000 square foot house that is bursting at the seams, yet only occupied by 3 people and one cat who is the spawn of satan. Ever since we lost the ability to pay for a housekeeper, I hate about 1,800 square feet of our house.

…waking up in the middle of a dream that I showed up to the first day of class without any of my material to teach. Highly likely fear if I don’t get my act together since it starts in 11 days and I haven’t pulled out the stuff from last year, let alone done anything with it.

I am assuming that you are catching my drift. I could provide you with examples all day, but I would humiliate myself with each additional revelation. So, with that, I’ve provided my obligatory New Year’s post. If you’ve read this far, I applaud you. This post was more for me than for your reading enjoyment.

We will return with the chaos, hopefully sprinkled with some simplification tomorrow.