A Musing: Top 10 Pre-Nationals Resolutions That I Probably Won't Keep

It never makes sense to make New Year's resolutions. I have 12 months to disappoint myself and feel badly enough about it that I feel I must make amends the following year. This is not my style. I barely survive a resolution that lasts a week, let alone 365 days. Right now, I am barely surviving resolutions I make in the morning. I sometimes have trouble remembering things I resolved to do as I move from room to room in my house. My children would tell me I need to make a list - something I have told them for years in the category of, "Don't do what I do; do as I say."

I am terrible at making lists (please do not tell my children)! I make mental lists and check things off as I go. Usually, this technique does not fail me - except in the grocery store where forgetting something after I am halfway home is part of what I have accepted as "normal" in my life, or when I am about to check out of Walmart realizing that I forgot something at the other end of the stadium-like facility. Do I really NEED it badly enough to jog another two miles around the aisles, dodging small children, harried moms and shopping carts? Do I really want to lose my place in line? Probably not.

So, why start now? Why make lists or resolutions that, with nine days left before we leave for Spokane, I know I most likely will not keep? I guess it is the Virgo in me that keeps trying fight its way out, telling me, "Get yourself together, Woman! Don't leave things until the last minute. Worse yet: Don't leave things until you get back! Make a resolution to get organized!"

Yeah, right...

Okay, okay. I'll try.

So, here are some of my pre-Nationals resolutions. They are the same as my pre-summer competition resolutions; my pre Regionals and Sectionals resolutions from past years. Here we go. See if you recognize yourself at any point along the way:

1. Go on a diet. (Surprisingly, I am making some headway on this one, though I suspect I will look less like Julia Roberts than Julia Child by the time I reach Spokane, but hey, it's progress!)
2. Organize my tax papers for my accountant before I leave because I won't have a lot of time to get that done when I return and this throws her into a fit at the last minute. (Sorry Michele; already lost that one.)
3. Clean out my refrigerator before we leave because I don't want to add to Gonzo's Mold Collection as the never ending leftovers move from the front to the back of the shelves until they morph into an unrecognizable form within my recycled plastic containers gathered from too many deliveries of Chinese takeout. (Possible to achieve, but not probable.)
4. Dust. (Like THAT'S going to happen!)
5. Pull things out from under the bed. (The thought of that kind of scares me since I have no idea what is actually under there and I am not sure that now is the appropriate time to find out.)
6. Write thank you notes for Christmas and get them in snail mail. (No comment needed on this one; if I owe you one, know that I am eternally grateful for what you sent and make sure I have your email address, please!)
7. Put holiday decorations away, other than the ones we are leaving up for Christmas Part Deux with our kids who just returned from India, as referenced in a previous blog. (It's a good thing on many levels that our skater vacated his room because now I can close the door to a mess that I actually made rather than one that was left for me.)
8. Take the car in for servicing, since the "maintenance required" light has been on for - oh - about 1200 miles longer than it should be. (Hey, it runs! Why tempt fate by taking it to a mechanic now?)
9. Get the leaky faucet in the bathroom sink fixed. (Again, no comment if you read my blog about time..)
10. Figure out what I am going to pack for Spokane; get a suitcase out of the garage, take clothes to the cleaner and start organizing so I don't take too much. (This actually doesn't matter since we are flying Southwest and they don't charge for bags so I can leave this to the last minute, right?)

Ten Pre-Nationals resolutions. One I am actually working on. The rest? There's always tomorrow. Maybe I can just cross off a few and narrow my list to something manageable.
Who am I kidding? It will be no different this year than it ever is, or has been for the past 20+ years. The biggest difference is that now I can blog about it. I guess it is my form of cyber absolution for not keeping my resolutions. By confessing to all of you, in some strange way I feel better. Mind you, I don't feel guilty; I just feel better.

Allen - did you see the Swiffer?