Resolutions

On the way down to Florida for Thanksgiving with Peter's daughter and son-in-law, I read the airline's in-flight magazine.  There was a piece about "because I said I would" and the young man who began the website and movement in response to his father's death.  His point is so simple - "A promise made.  A promise kept."  You can get cards from the site or print your own, then write a promise on a card. And then follow through, because you said you would.  It's a way to build up oneself as an honorable person, a person whose word has meaning.  And it's also a way to reach out, connect, help, grow and even seek forgiveness.  It's a way to make tangible those fleeting promises we all have.

Well, the one person with whom I consistently break my promises is ME, so this idea intrigued me.

It's not about making sweeping resolutions, just about making small promises.  I think I can do this! I've been thinking about it since Thanksgiving.  I checked the because I said I would website.  I visited the facebook page.  I ordered the t-shirt.  The cards on on their way.  I did everything BUT make the promises.  So, with you as the witnesses to my promises, here goes!

Fifty-two small promises to myself for a new year full of promise:

• I will do some kind of art every day - draw, sew, crochet, paint, create.
• I promise to take care of my body by putting the right fuel in it.
• I promise to take care of my body by using it every day - exercising, playing, dancing, anything other than sitting.
• I will write on this blog two times a week.
• I will read a new novel every month (I know - pitiful!  But I read too many other things and novels have been relegated to vacation time.  No longer!)
• I will get enough sleep.
• I will take an electronics break once a week.  Music doesn't count.

(Seven promises, only 45 to go!)

• I will call my brothers every week.
• I will visit Kristy in her new place.
• I will see my cousins in Vermont and Massachusetts.
• I will meet my cousins from North Carolina.
• I will make a lunch date with Karen in Virginia.
• I will take a walk with Beth in Virginia.  (Small promises, remember!)
• I promise to send birthday cards so they arrive BEFORE the birthday.
• I will make an appointment with my oncologist.
• I will drink more water every day.  (It should be half your weight in ounces!)
• I will call a friend once a week.
• I will light a candle for my friend Linda.
• I will light candles on my mother's and father's yahrzeits.



Pet me!



• I promise to give Bear some time every day (rather than waiting for him to demand it!).

(Twenty!  32 to go!  This is hard.)

• I will go visit my brother Chris.
• I will go visit my brother Andy and Joanne.

(Wait!  Can I say I'll read a novel in January.  I'll read a novel in February.  I'll read a novel in March?  That would turn 1 promise into twelve!)

• I will read a novel in January.
• I will read a novel in February.
• I will read a novel in March.
• I will read a novel in April.
• I will read a novel in May.
• I will read a novel in June.
• I will read a novel in July.
• I will read a novel in August.
• I will read a novel in September.
• I will read a novel in October.
• I will read a novel in November.
• I will read a novel in December.
• I will read another novel in August.

(34!  52 - 34 = 18  18 more to go!)

• I will visit my parents' gravestones in Culpeper.
• I promise to write a letter a month to an old friend.
• I promise to get Christmas cards to my friends BEFORE Christmas.
• I promise to do something with Possum Point Players.  
• As a member, I will put something in a Rehoboth Art League show.
• I promise to paint a piece of furniture, in honor of my old reading couch.
• I promise NOT to eat french fries.  (Reference the second promise.)
• I promise to no longer sneak a soda when I go to Marshalls. (Ditto!)
• I promise to thin out my possessions in order to simplify my life.
• I promise to see my sisters-in-law this year - other than at my daughter's wedding.
• I will go to Charlottesville to see old friends and a beautiful town.
• I will go to Williamsburg to learn more about Virginia history with Peter.
• I promise to learn more about Delaware history.  I'll start with Lewes.
• I will write, re-write, or share a poem a week.  (And, no, I will not write that 52 times!)
• I promise to say what I think, and think before I speak, more often.
• I promise to stop saying unkind things about myself.
• I promise to stop doubting myself.
• I promise to keep my promises.

So there they are - 52 promises for a new year.  There are so many other things that I know I'll do (time with my children, my life with Peter, making the new house a wonderful, welcoming home) that I didn't mention them - they're easy.  I put down the things that will be a little hard for me.  I don't know why they are, but they have been.  They're the things I let slide when I really wish I hadn't.  Wish me luck!

"You must do the things you think you cannot do."  - Eleanor Roosevelt