My birthday is on the last day of the year. Next year, on the last day of the year, I'll be hitting a certain big birthday that is in the double digits and includes a 0.
This year, like now, I'm thinking of all sorts of things I always thought I'd accomplish before I reached 40: Write a book. Get healthier (skinnier. whatever.). Learn how to ___ (many things). You know, that kind of stuff. Since that big birthday is only a little over a year away, I've been spending a lot of time at the bay with the gulls lately, thinking.
Thankfully, I'm living most of my dreams. I mean, hello!, what kind of gal woudl I be if I complained about this kind, loyal man I married 17 years ago, or these two boys and two girls we were blessed to receive straight from Heaven?
Still, there are a few dreams that haven't been accomplished yet, and although I could blame stay-at-home motherhood or time-gulping homeschooling, to be honest, I'm the reason some goals have never been accomplished. My children and the husband aren't blocking the path between here and there. They'd happily come along for the journey.
This year is the year I stop making excuses. I can't tackle every project I'd like to, though, so while hanging with the seagulls, I've been soul-searching deep down, asking myself what is really important to accomplish this year.
Since I'm pretty sure I won't be gifted with an extra hour or two each day, I know that something or other that I'm currently doing needs to be purged in order to get these new goals accomplished. So, the seagulls and I are also discussing what is Cluttering my Life and Needs to Go.
My friend Mary, who was my first college friend (many!) years ago and who comes to visit each Thanksgiving from her far away Chicago, and who is the most goal-oriented and goal-meeting person I've met, wisely said, "Resolutions that are started before New Year's Day have a better chance of success."
I guess starting now might be a good idea, then?
I'll be off to spend some more time with the seagulls tomorrow, staring over the bay, watching the sunset or the children, an empty sheet of paper in front of me and a pen in hand....waiting. Praying and then waiting until I realize where my focus should be in 2010, my last year to be a certain age that is in the double digits and includes a 3.
