Something New for 2009
Or…The Dragon wants to exchange resolutions with you

It’s not quite like a recipe exchange, but let’s use that as our analogy. For today, I’d like to hear (or read, as the case may be) your New Year’s resolution. What’s the biggie for you in 2009?

You see, I don’t typically set some year-long goal and map out the plan to pursue it. In preparing this blog, I couldn’t remember the last time I made a list of new year resolutions. I think it was early in my Kansas City days. I lived there about 13 years. Now, this isn’t to say I’ve wandered aimlessly through life without goals. Far from it. But when I set out to accomplish something (and you can read that anal-retentive exercise, complete with Nigel’s spin on how it usually progresses, over at Nigel’s blog today) it’s not limited to an announcement Dec. 31/Jan. 1 and a plan that goes into motion Jan. 2 or 3 or whatever you like.

This year, I’m breaking with tradition and making a resolution. In fact, I’m making two. (I can hear a black-cloaked muppet vampire cackling somewhere in the background.) Two new year’s resolutions. Bwua ha ha ha ha ha ha.

First, I’m going to get healthy. Two oncologists—one a radiologist—have informed me that my tumors have shrunk. Considering the disease I was dealing with gets cured—not just smacked into blessed remission, but 100 percent cured—all the time, I feel quite confident that when I go in for my scan in April, I’ll hear that I have a clean bill of health. In the meantime, I’ve been able to hold food down for almost a full week now. This morning, I ate solid food. It wasn’t a lot, but it was non-mushy and it didn’t hurt my throat. This, my friends, is improvement. Soon, I’ll be gaining weight and be back on the court shooting hoops.

Second, I’m going to send out birthday cards. Doesn’t sound too difficult, does it? People, you have no idea. I used to be so good about keeping track of my friends’ birthdays (and immediate family, of course). That would be back in my college days and when I first got out of school. Back when I was married (and I shudder) I took care of getting cards to send to folks on both sides of the family…for a while. I can’t really say what went wrong. Busy schedule? Forgetfulness? Not transferring dates from a calendar one year? The Christmas before I filed for divorce, I got Idiot-Stick a calendar and I contacted a couple of the matriarchs in his family to get birthday lists so I could write them all down all over the calendar. This way, he would have names, birthdays & years, and relationships in one convenient spot. I thought about this gift during an e-mail conversation recently and thought, “That’s what I need.” So I got myself a lovely song bird calendar with these excellent pictures on each day (some really cute ones in there) and started contacting people whose birthdays or anniversaries I didn’t already know. I also have a book of stamps attached to it with a paperclip. See…planning for success.

Anyway, I’ve done enough rambling about this. Those are my resolutions. There’s room in the comment field to share yours. There’s something mentally “de-cluttering” about having set these resolutions this year, and about having written them down. So feel free to de-clutter here at The Dragon and share your resolutions with us.

Some days, I just want the dragon to win.
Tags: new years resolution, birthdays, health, recipe exchange