So, I decided to entitle my New Years post with “Happy Twenty-Ten” because of a news story I saw last night. It was on the debate over whether verbally call 2010 “twenty-ten” or “two-thousand ten.” I will be saying “twenty-ten.” Why? Simple: this is how it was done most commonly last century. “Nineteen-ten.” “Nineteen-ninety nine.” Get it?
Anyway, onto the New Years stuff. My wife asked me last night if I had any resolutions. At the time I only had one, and I really had not put a lot of thought into more. I have since kicked around a few ideas, and I figured I might as well get to placing them in the record. Here goes!
1. Start every day with prayer. Ok, I have to give credit to KTIS-FM for inspiring this one. They have been running some ads recently asking people to consider this resolution, and to pray for the community. But they are not the originators of such an idea or practice – they just served to put the idea back in front of me.
2. Keep up on the weight loss/getting back into shape stuff. Everyone seems to have this item on their rez list. I got down to business last spring and lost 40 pounds. I relaxed the diet adherence around Thanksgiving time, and have only gained back about 7. But I can’t tell you how awesome it felt to get back into the old waistline again. I want to go further…perhaps another 40? I would be happy with another 20 for sure, but why not aim for the “ideal” weight for my height? The only trade-off I am willing to make is building back muscle mass and strength. Now that the kids weigh a combined 55-60 pounds, my arms and legs are getting more of a workout. I need to balance out the muscle groups with an actual routine however…which brings me to rez #3.
3. Homework. No, not the kind of homework typically eaten by dogs or copied off your friends. I mean the kind that means that our home needs a lot of work. Our exercise room (which contains a club-quality treadmill, freeweights, and a TV/DVD combo on the wall) has been converted to an all-purpose storage/junk room. All that stuff needs to get out of there and actually eliminated from our possession or actually stored. Storing more stuff means cleaning and prepping the garage for more storage. After the exercise room is restored to it’s proper state, the home office needs a redo. Concurrently with these projects, the kitchen needs a facelift of sorts. All the while that occurs, we need to keep up on yardwork and landscaping. Meanwhile, we need to plan ahead for the kids needs. Homework. It never ends.
4 a & b. Schedule management. This year I am getting back to the airline pilot life as much as I can. I am finally finishing up training in my actual position as a CRJ900 Captain after a 20-month delay. Full-time union work prevented attending class for the new airplane sooner, and also took a big toll on the logbook. Now that the major project which had me off the flight line is complete, I can resume a more normal schedule. Union duties will still occur, but only on a part-time basis. This also will allow me to better manage time and schedule with the family. So, this is a 2-part resolution:
5. Focus on what everyone else needs before I focus on my own needs. My wife is the most selfless person I know. I have a long way to go before I can truly act the way she does towards others – especially towards her. If I fail to make efforts on #1-4b, above, it is because I failed on this resolution. This is really my #1 New Years Resolution for 2010.
I hope and pray that 2010 brings peace and prosperity to all of us!
