Okay, one more list post. (Sorry, guys. I know this is the third one in a row.) I'm not usually big on New Year's Resolutions, because I feel like they set you up for failure, but I'm taking the plunge this year. And I'm going to write them down, so I can look back on them at the end of the year. Here they are:
1) Write every day. My paper journal, this blog, other pieces or one large piece (ahem novel). Doesn't matter. Just write every day.
2) Be more patient with Cali. More deep breaths, less TV. Yesterday I got down on the floor and played blocks with her, and the way she laughed and laughed as we knocked the towers down was better than anything else I could have been doing.
3) Exercise more regularly. I'm not going to commit to one workout regimen, and although I'd love to get back into running 5Ks, I really just want to move every day. Walk, run, ride my bike, hike. If that leads to getting back into serious running, or taking a yoga class, then that's great. But as long as I'm moving my body nearly every day, I'm going to count it as a success.
4) Work harder at maintaining my friendships. Go out to lunch with friends, have people over, call people, don't be a recluse. I'm meeting a friend for coffee today, so it's a good start.
5) Be more accepting of myself. Sorry if that sounds hippy-dippy, but it's important. I want to be more satisfied with who I am, and at peace with what my life looks like day-to-day. That's what this blog, and my other journaling, has been about from the beginning for me. Appreciate the stillness of life, even as it's moving, and remembering to appreciate the roses.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Old Year, New Year
The New Year came in in a quiet, melancholy way here in my household. I heard some sad family news on New Years Eve, and stayed at home with Cali instead of going to our neighbors as planned. At midnight we went outside and showed Cali how to bang on a pot with a wooden spoon, but the firecrackers were too scary for her, so we went back inside, where she continued to bang her pot cheerfully.
Despite its sad and mellow ending, there were some beautiful moments in 2010 that I'd like to remember:
The cold nights in early January when Ricardo would bring Cali to me at my midnight lunch break at the ER, and I would nurse her in the car, while the lights from the passing ambulances washed over us.
The February night when I first arrived with Cali in our little apartment in the lemon tree house, which still smelled like the new paint they used in between tenants. The living room was completely empty except for an air mattress, but it still felt like home.
The day in March when Cali turned one. We took her to her favorite place, the "dut park" and she danced around on the grass in a little white tutu.
A day in April, when I was driving along with Cali in her car seat, and she kept saying "uh-oh, uh-oh". I finally realized that she hadn't dropped anything, but was actually singing along with Regina Spektor to "on the radio, uh-oh, on the radio."
Beautiful May days watching Cali learn to climb and slide and swing in the sunshine, when the weather was so beautiful we went to the park every afternoon.
The few nights in June when my best friend came to visit with her kids and we stayed up late into the night talking and drinking wine, and spent the days taking the kids to the beach and the boardwalk.
The night we took Cali to see fireworks for the fourth of July, and the many July afternoons spent watching Cali eat plums and berries in the sunshine.
The August afternoon when the little girl next door came over to play for the first time, and she and Cali fell immediately into friendship, despite certain bickerings over a ball. And the very next day when they saw each other and squealed with delight.
The hot September day we took the girls apple picking, and the way Cali's hair looked so blond in the sunshine.
The way Cali looked so round and fuzzy in her little Halloween monkey costume, and the way she said "ticky teets" so soft and shy.
Cooking turkey and delicious stuffing, ruining a pumpkin cake by putting it in the oven at the same time as the fish, enjoying the wonderful company of our neighbors and friends, and watching the world's worst ever horror movie on Thanksgiving.
Sitting quietly in the semi-dark, with only the Christmas tree lights on, and listening to Cali sing me "twinko twinko litto stor".
Happy New Year, everyone.
Despite its sad and mellow ending, there were some beautiful moments in 2010 that I'd like to remember:
The cold nights in early January when Ricardo would bring Cali to me at my midnight lunch break at the ER, and I would nurse her in the car, while the lights from the passing ambulances washed over us.
The February night when I first arrived with Cali in our little apartment in the lemon tree house, which still smelled like the new paint they used in between tenants. The living room was completely empty except for an air mattress, but it still felt like home.
The day in March when Cali turned one. We took her to her favorite place, the "dut park" and she danced around on the grass in a little white tutu.
A day in April, when I was driving along with Cali in her car seat, and she kept saying "uh-oh, uh-oh". I finally realized that she hadn't dropped anything, but was actually singing along with Regina Spektor to "on the radio, uh-oh, on the radio."
Beautiful May days watching Cali learn to climb and slide and swing in the sunshine, when the weather was so beautiful we went to the park every afternoon.
The few nights in June when my best friend came to visit with her kids and we stayed up late into the night talking and drinking wine, and spent the days taking the kids to the beach and the boardwalk.
The night we took Cali to see fireworks for the fourth of July, and the many July afternoons spent watching Cali eat plums and berries in the sunshine.
The August afternoon when the little girl next door came over to play for the first time, and she and Cali fell immediately into friendship, despite certain bickerings over a ball. And the very next day when they saw each other and squealed with delight.
The hot September day we took the girls apple picking, and the way Cali's hair looked so blond in the sunshine.
The way Cali looked so round and fuzzy in her little Halloween monkey costume, and the way she said "ticky teets" so soft and shy.
Cooking turkey and delicious stuffing, ruining a pumpkin cake by putting it in the oven at the same time as the fish, enjoying the wonderful company of our neighbors and friends, and watching the world's worst ever horror movie on Thanksgiving.
Sitting quietly in the semi-dark, with only the Christmas tree lights on, and listening to Cali sing me "twinko twinko litto stor".
Happy New Year, everyone.
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