Monday, June 24, 2013

How About That 2013? (Part 2)

      On January 1, 2013, I made a list of fifty things I might do in 2013.  These were not meant to be high pressure goals but just random thoughts about what lay ahead in the new year.  I checked in in March to see how that list was looking in the light of spring.  Now it's time to see what the mid way point in 2013 looks like.  I'm not going to review everything on the list but I'd like to consider three things that I have actually done and three things that I might still choose to do.

     In March I celebrated the progress made on kitchen improvements and hand surgery.  Neither of those items can be completely checked off the list as done but they continue to move forward.  Item number 12 seems to be a focus for now:  paring down possessions (see Dump It All).  That feels important and freeing.  I know I am also well aware of item number 13:  avoid accumulating even more possessions.   In April, I reveled in the stunning peace and beauty that is Yosemite.  Those few days definitely take the prize for being the highlight of 2013 so far.  I enthusiastically placed item number 7 on the list in January.  I was so jazzed to plan to participate in the A to Z Challenge.  That tower of enthusiasm crashed as April got under way and I moved on.  Some things just don't go the way you planned, you know?

     Reflecting in June on the list made in January makes me keenly aware of how much things change.  For some unknown reason, many of the items on the list don't capture my attention these days.  So be it.  Maybe they will come into focus again later but not now.  I am experimenting with item number 20:  accept the darkness.  I would make it much broader now.  I am learning to accept a lot of things as the way it is.  Not good, not bad. Just the way it is.  Number 28 (Learn what it means to make and apply my own rules to myself) seems to be a theme for these summer months.  I wonder where that will go. I suppose it will be influenced by number 38: engage in frequent and random conversations with myself.  Interesting thought, that one.  Sometimes I feel as if I am the only one available for me to talk to.  The people with whom I might want to talk are, for lots of reasons, just not available right now.  I am an observer, a recorder, and a reflector.  I have to know that a person wants to engage in real conversation before I begin to share any of those self to self conversations.  Real conversation means they will talk back about things that matter.

     In theory, I will check in again in September.  I expect that number 47 (Look for surprises) might be on the agenda.

      



21 comments:

  1. I seem to remember that you stopped write the A-Z challenge because it hurt too much to type, "Towers of Enthusiasm" have a way of crashing as the threshold of pain diminishes... Good luck with your list!

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    1. Yes, the hand issues, Pauline's health crisis, and the work environment all collaborated to influence that decision. It was fine. I write when I want to write. I like how you did it on your own terms!
      xoxoxo

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  2. I love how introspective some of these are (i.e. #20, #28, & #38). Goocd luck checking your list off as the year progresses further :)

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    1. Thanks, Keith. I doubt that any of those three will ever be completely checked off any list but I am curious to see what unfolds.

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  3. #1 on my "Things to Do In 2013" list:
    1. Make a list.

    Ooops.

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    1. And, see, you've already started your list! And it's only six months til 2014! You go, Al!

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  4. I'm working on your item number 12. I'm a sentimental person, and getting rid of things is so difficult for me. A few weeks ago, I sent three boxes of books off to Goodwill. I'm getting there.

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    1. I think I used to be more sentimental. Not so much anymore. Life is more ephemeral and I don't need the stuff to remind me of either the good or the bad times. But that's me and maybe someday I will regret dumping that Beauty and the Beast jigsaw puzzle that my daughter used to beg me to work with her - EVERY DAY........

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  5. I interrupt your number 28 to be that you want to be more of your own person.
    For me, I need to lighten up on myself and perhaps let go of some of my own rules. Actually they probably aren't even really my rules anyway. And perhaps that is what you meant by number 28.

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    1. Bingo - make the rules that are really my rules and not simply complying with what I have been told are the rules. Thing is, that is not an easy thing to do. It's not easy to sort out what rules are really mine and which ones I just follow. It is exhausting. Is it worth it? I don't know yet.

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  6. I am not a fan of lists, but I do like conversations.

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    1. You know, Andrew? I like that. I think I like conversations a lot more than lists (or rules..... see previous comment).

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    2. Oh, I'm not a fan of rules, either, and even less a fan of traditions.

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    3. And how's that working with kids?

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    4. Oh, no, I'm a fan of rules for -them-.
      Actually, I teach them to question a lot. Not to just accept things. Which often bites me pretty hard where my daughter is concerned, because she will just say, "Dad, you tell us to ask 'why.'"

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  7. It's nice to look at the list before December and see how well the progress goes. I, of course, refuse to make lists in January, so I have nothing to look back on. But now that we're not at beginning of year, this might make a good time to make a list...

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    1. But you make lists about all the things you did in the last year! How many days subbed in which classrooms! THAT'S an interesting list!

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  8. I applaud your for maintaining the list and actually attempting to accomplish the things on it. I'm constantly making lists and seldom following through. Blame it on the chaos and inconsistency of my existence.

    By the way, I always have conversations with myself. I enjoy my own company.....

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    1. What I like about these lists that I have taken to making on January 1 is that they are really not about pressure and you must. They are fuel for thought as the year unfolds. I appear to be a bit sidetracked this year but I am okay with that.
      And I agree. For the most part, I enjoy my own company. Sometimes I can downright mean to me but I can also laugh at myself (a lot).

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  9. You're attutide is inspiring! So often I find myself getting mad and disappointed in myself for not completing everything I set out to do. This is a good reminder to take it one day at a time and follow what is best for you right now. Great post!

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    1. Thanks, kiddo! I hope that you can hold on to that notion of following what is best for you right now. It can be confusing but , as noted in an earlier post, being human is all about messy and confused. One thing that I know to be true is that you matter to me. You are among the very best parts of my life.
      xoxoxoxxo

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