A Fresh Slate

I'm not much into New Year's Eve, especially now at almost-50. But I love New Year's Day. It's important to have the Christmas clutter gone by January 1st (and why is it that everyone is quite cheerful to take all that clutter out and set it about the room, but quite grumpy when they're asked to help put it away?).

Then there is space to reflect on the past year, and think about the one that is still young.

Well, not that much space. It's still kind of cluttered in this house. 

A few nights ago I went downstairs, through Rob's music room, to get some meat from the freezer in the furnace room (I know). I don't go down often because of my hip, and it was a scary expedition. It looks a bit too much like photos of those houses of hoarders. I made a joking comment about it the next day, and he explained it this way: He has a collection of single-malt bottles (empty -- duh) that he'd like to display on shelves. Until he has a chance to build the shelves, he wants to store the bottles in the unfinished basement in the old part of the house. (Straight forward, so far.) But he decided that before he moved them, he should take them all out of the boxes and photograph them in groups (all the Glenmorangies, all the Doublewoods, etc)!! This is such a good example of Rob's disease. It's hard to clean your office if cleaning just the desk takes a month. Imagine if women tackled housework this way?

Okay, so that's not really about a fresh slate. But I think I feel better for getting it off my chest. He's a lovely man in so many ways.

So, what not to repeat from last year? 

• Well, as Chair of the Grievance Committee I need to learn to NOT take the job personally. I'm trying to make certain the administration is following the Contract, but these are not actually my problems. It doesn't do anyone any good for me to obsess about someone else's situation so much I can't get to sleep.
• I need to stop waiting on Emma. I made a start of this last year --one important change was that she now makes her own school lunch. I need to admit that sometimes jobs will be more difficult by requiring her to do them, but if I don't make that effort she'll leave this house unable to do basic housework and cooking. It's so much easier just to get things done without grudging help. But it's for her own good. Sigh.

 And what to resolve to actually do this year?

• Rob and I need to start taking our multi-vitamins. They're such huge things, it's easy to look at them in the morning and convince yourself that skipping them every once in a while won't really matter. Then suddenly you're skipping them every day. And really dragging.
• I'm not teaching evenings this semester, so I want to make sure I cook more meals. We're not a good family for eating at the same time, especially when both Rob and I are teaching multiple evenings each week. But I've seen how much Emma actually appreciates it when I make a good meal --especially meat, lately. I need to make more of an effort.
• I will get my butt in gear and finish transferring the geology labs to the online software. In one year I've completed three. In the next two months I have to finish the remaining 10.

And just for the heck of it, let's branch out into fantasy land.

• I'll exercise every day.
• I'll spend less time surfing the internets.
• I'll keep up with the dusting so it doesn't all have to be done right before the next appraisal.
• Emma and I will take a large bag up to her closet and decrease the number of stuffed animals that live in her closet. I swear if E.T. was in there, we'd never know.

Happy New Year, everyone! And may we all have much luck with our resolutions :-)