I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions because I figure I beat myself up enough as it is, so why give myself even more ammunition? Instead of making formal resolutions, I thought, “Well, these would be good things to do.”
#1: Adding a new post to my blog every Friday. Or Saturday. Once a week. There’s a cooking blog I like to follow, and the author always has a Friday post that I look forward to. That author has three young children and a busy household. Certainly I, with only a husband and two cats to look after, could post once a week, couldn’t I? The answer to that question is: No, apparently, I cannot. I have good intentions, and sometimes I have good ideas. I’ve even written complete posts but decided to set them aside for a little while just in case they needed to be edited/rewritten/fixed in some way. (Because it you’re putting yourself out there as a writer, producing a post full of typos and spelling or grammar errors doesn’t seem like a smart thing to do.) However, once I set things aside, I immediately forget about them and move on to something else. SIGH. The biggest detriment to my blogging success is that if I’m in the middle of writing a novel, I don’t want to take the time away from that project to blog. Unfortunately, I’m a little single-minded that way.
#2: Adding weight training to my fitness routine. Since I spend the majority of my day sitting at my desk (usually with a cat sitting on me to absorb space heater warmth), I try to be very faithful about ellipticalling three times a week and rowing two days a week. Then my doctor told me I have lost muscle mass and advised me to start weight training. (She also advised me to meditate, and I didn’t even add that to my list of quasi-resolutions because I know myself too well.) I meant to start weight training in January and somehow January came and went, and I hadn’t lifted anything heavier than a box of Christmas ornaments. I reset my goal: February would be the month to start weight training. As of this writing, I have lifted weights precisely twice. The first time, I followed a video in which an Amazonian babe about forty years younger than I am flung kettlebells around with abandon. A lot of her moves involved squats. About twenty minutes in, I could feel my leg muscles start to quiver (never a good sign) and the following day I was so sore that I couldn’t go down the stairs. (Up was okay, down was the pits.) After I’d recovered from that, I tried a different video that was supposed to be for absolute beginners. One of the exercises involved something called a “Superman” pose, meaning you lie on your stomach and lift your feet and outstretched arms up at the same time, so you look sort of curved like a Pringles potato chip. Once you are in said Superman position, you are supposed to bring your arms back toward your shoulders without touching the ground and then back out again. Easy-peasy, right? Well, the gal on the TV made it look incredibly effortless, but it wasn’t. It was hard to do. And it hurt. In fact, I think I pulled something in my side on the third rep and quit immediately thereafter. Onward to video number three. This time, the emphasis is on form and not hurting oneself and working out consistently. The only problem: When do I fit this in? Do I eliminate rowing one day? Ellipticalling? Do I do both weight training and cardio on the same day? Switch it up? I’m still trying to figure that out. I am such a creature of habit that any new addition to what I think is a good schedule throws me off.
#3: Becoming more social. My last job—a very public one—came to an abrupt bad end several years ago, and it was then that I came to realize that living in a small, gossipy town after such a devastating face plant can be kind of awful. So I didn’t leave home for a very long time, or if I did leave home, I made certain to run my errands anywhere but in town. I’d never been a particularly social person in the first place (as a little kid, I hid behind the couch whenever we had company) but losing the job—and my confidence—took me to a very antisocial place. Now I’m starting to wonder if I need to get back into society again. I’m considering a part-time job. I’m wondering about joining (or starting my own) book group. Maybe I could find a pen-pal. Maybe I’ll try pickleball. Maybe I’ll find a walking partner. Maybe I’ll join a meditation group and we can all sit around and think calm thoughts and ignore each other.
The thought occurred to me that it’s too bad I didn’t make a resolution to write one good book this year because in January and February, I did! It’s still early days yet, and I have a lot of editing and rewrites to do, but I’m very happy with what I’ve produced. If only lifting weights or writing blog posts could be that easy.
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