2012: Review and Resolution

 

Each year on December 31st for the past twenty-five years I have had a ritual where I review the year. In a small notebook on index cards I write the year and columns for GOOD and BAD. Some years I have put categories for INDIFFERENT, HMMM..., NOT SURE, NOT SO GOOD, REALLY NASTY or WORSE THAN HELL.  At times the same experience fits into both categories. For instance, in 2000 I have under the GOOD column "Fell in love" with an arrow drawn across the card pointing to the BAD column with the guy's name. HA!

 

I'm not sure why I started this. Maybe I was thinking if I make some kind of written assessment it will all even out because then I remind myself of the Good that happened when I tend to concentrate on the Bad. It's easier to dwell on the Bad. Of course, years later even the Bad column makes me smile. Time has a way of making the Bad seem funny. Thankfully.

 

In a way it's like a abbreviated diary, highlights of the past year. I've kept diaries since I was about twelve years old but because I use my writing as an emotional outlet, when the book is filled I wonder why I bothered. It's great therapy at the time, but also a self-violation of privacy. I don't want people reading my private thoughts so I throw them away.  One year I threw my diary in the garbage and the following week I found it on my evil step-sister's nightstand. I'm sure she was reading it for her entertainment pleasure. So I started destroying the diary before it gets to the garbage. I wish I still had them. Especially those I had when I was young. Oh well.

 

So, what about 2012?

Good: blog, Peter, garage remodel, garage sale, health improvement with diet, Jason Mraz concert, garden

Bad: construction worker hell

Looks like it's been a fairly good year. I hope in years to come "construction worker hell" will make me smile, but not today.

 

On the back of next year's index card I put my planned New Year's Resolution. Since most of them I don't keep, they are more like goals. I tend to write multiple resolutions in hopes of one being kept so I include some with positive advice like: Have Fun, Be Happy, Survive. In hindsight, the resolutions are fun to read as they often give the mood for how the previous year went. Survive said it all. Here are some of my more colorful resolutions:

No More Purses
Ask Out 100 Men
Avoid Office Jobs
No Flaming

So now I should think of a resolution...

 

What is your New Year's Resolution for 2013?