Sunday, December 31, 2023

New Year’s Resolutions

Dear Friends,

I think I’m to be congratulated . . . I beat the calendar!  Still have several hours yet before the year ends and the new one begins.

I need to make at least a few do-able resolutions for the new year, ones that I think I can actually do and stick with.  And maybe offer a couple of suggestions you might want to consider for your own resolutions.

Resolutions need to be very specific to be effective. They need to be actual goals a person can use to say, Yes, I accomplished that.  For example, it does no good to make a resolution to lose weight this year.  Losing one pound will fulfill the resolution.  A better resolution would be to resolve to lose three pounds every month for the coming year.

As a student, it does no good to make a resolution to study more.  A good resolution would be to add an additional five hours per week to your study schedule while school is in session.

When I was in college the first time, we were encouraged to get in at least a half hour of Bible study and prayer every morning before starting the rest of the day.  I was able to do that only rarely. Kept wanting to, but was poor at actually doing it.  Making it a resolution was not something I could actually accomplish.

So here are my resolutions I will attempt to maintain for this year:

1.  For 2024, I find I can actually accomplish getting in at least ten minutes of prayer per day, and have found my own easy way to do it, so that is a resolution.

2.  I resolve to clean up the kitchen at least every other day, unless health issues interfere for any particular day.

3.  I resolve the write you at least one e-mail every week.  I think I won’t be able to write two a week like I started out with.

4.  I resolve to keep my office area well organized instead of items just scattered around.

5.  I resolve to always remember Donna’s birthday (December 31, 9:20 pm), and our anniversary (November 29 . . married in 2014) . . . . In fact this one is not new.  I never forget these anyway.

6.  I resolve to get in at least 12 hours of exercise every week . . . . O.K., you’re supposed to make one or more resolutions you know you can’t keep, so this will be the first of mine.

7.  I resolve to put in considerable thought and effort into cooking dinner for at least 5 evenings every week . . . . that’s number 2 about “it ain’t going to happen.”

The custom of making New Year’s Resolutions pretty much started when Adam and Eve were still pruning apple trees and fig trees, i.e., a long time ago.  Google tells us, “The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago.”  They made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.   If the Babylonians kept to their word, their (pagan) gods would bestow favor on them for the coming year. If not, they would fall out of the gods’ favor—a place no one wanted to be.

More stuff about it: “ Julius Caesar tinkered with the calendar and established January 1 as the beginning of the new year circa 46 B.C. . . . For early Christians, the first day of the new year became the traditional occasion for thinking about one’s past mistakes and resolving to do and be better in the future.”

New Year’s Resolutions today focus more on personal improvement than anything else.  So here are a couple of suggestions for resolutions for you:

1.  I resolve to complete at least one UFO every three months.

2.  I resolve to do most of my fabric and quilting supplies shopping at Fox Country Quilts.

3.  I resolve to take a minimum of three Pro-Stitcher or other classes during the year at Fox Country Quilts.

4.  I resolve to always be kind to animals and to kids, and chastise myself I ever get too irritated by them.  

5.  I resolve to be involved with Fun Foxy Fridays at Fox Country Quilts at least once every six weeks.

6.  I resolve to be a part of the quilting/sewing community at Fox Country Quilts.

7.  I resolve to never be involved in a road rage incident while driving.

O.K., these shouldn’t be to tough to accomplish, and they are well calculated to increase your enjoyment and productivity over the coming new year.  They are specific enough that you will know if you have achieved them or not.  However it goes, have a great year!

Chip