Quick Bread

If I don't do this now, it might not get done at all, so here is the Bisquick version of my end of '07, beginning of '08 Sleeping with Bread post.

2007...

...was at times disappointing. Usually, the disappointment had to do with people. Go figure. If you've been hanging out in my universe for very long you know I love God and His church. However, His church (the people, not the buildings) can be headstrong, stubborn, given to fits of silliness, and just plain frustrating. Thank goodness He loves us anyway.

...was at times typical. I started last year with great intentions for my health, physical and spiritual. I ended it with the equivalent of one of those horrific pratfalls that makes you want to laugh and cry for a person all at the same time. The spiritual practices and physical exercise I was so diligent at for the first few months of '07 were nowhere to be found by the end.

...was at times exhilarating. I started school, was scared to death--as evidenced by much gastro-intestinal distress and disrupted sleep, juggled too many balls but came through it all with quite a nice result. I met some new, lovely people, figured out exactly what this Master's in Reading Education actually is and figured out a) that I think I'm going to be good at what I want to do and b) that I really like it.

For 2008...

...I hope to me more disciplined. With three classes and the usual commitments, I know I will not be Miss Perfect Exerciser or Miss Never-Miss-A-Prayer time. However, I hope to incorporate good practices, on all levels, more often than not. My life (and my family's lives) are much better off when I am eating right, exercising, and spending meaningful time in spiritual pursuits.

...I hope to continue to do well in school. This will require more of the discipline mentioned above. Oy! I almost laughed out loud as I typed that. I'm such an undisciplined person. This will be interesting.

...Ultimately, for all the challenges that 2007 brought, I wouldn't mind feeling overall about 2008 as I do about 2007: that it was a year in which I did good but could do better. I had dubbed 2007 as The Year of Restraint. While I still need to work on all the things I listed in last year's Resolutions post, I would be content to look forward to 2009 having shown some restraint and discipline but feeling as if I was able to enjoy life along the way.

The Year of Just Being...

being Mary-LUE

being Mom

being Wife and Partner

being Friend

being Daughter

being Student

Being.

Confessions of a New Year's Resolutions Junkie

Tick...

Tick...

Tick...

Do you hear that? It is the sound of 2006 winding down. Just a few more days until the new year. I don't know about you but the last week of the year is a time of reflection for me. Maybe it is ingrained from all those years of child-like enthusiasm for New Year's resolutions. Commitments I never kept. At least, I cannot remember ever keeping one. And still, as an adult I make a few every year because every year I see the need for growth in my life.

This year I am overwhelmed by the number of things I would like to do differently in 2007. That depresses me just a little. I have learned, though, that any accomplishment begins with one small step--not the decision to do something but the first movement. And, I've learned that I'd rather look back at a year and see I made it 25% of the way toward a goal than zero percent.

So I am taking time these next few days to consider how much I want to tackle this year and to prioritize it all--which goals are more important than the others--because inevitably I will attempt more than I can handle. But by striving for more, I hope I will accomplish more than I otherwise would have. And ultimately, in the words of Dory--which my daughter reminded me of today--I'll "just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." and this time next year, I'll be writing here about the progress I've made.


Image from PC Wallpapers