On a Personal Note: The New Year's Edition

It's hard to believe that 2011 is, for all intents and purposes, over. Every year people all over express this sentiment, and I am no different - this year just flew by. Seriously, it's like I blinked my eyes a year ago Sunday, and poof! The year is gone before it even registered in my brain.

Fine, that's not entirely true. I am more than happy to see 2011 in my rear view, fading quietly into the past. For those that know me and mine, 2011 was a turbulent year to say the least. Money was tight, health faultered and stress was at an all time high. Every year has its ups and downs, and every crest and every valley must be taken in stride - it just seems like that rollercoaster was more extreme than other years. Looking back, I see how close things were to getting very serious and it is sombering, yet at the same time there is a lot of joy to be found in knowing that there is so much to be thankful for; things could have very easily fallen off that razor's edge and taken a turn for the worst, but they didn't.

New Year's brings about one of two reactions from people - on one hand, in rushes a flood of enthusiastic resolutions, and on the other, a chorus of vehement rejections about making resolutions for the New Year on the grounds that it's pointless. I have to say that I'm on the fence there. Half of me says if the turn of the year is what lights a spark and becomes a motivating factor in goal setting, then so be it. But then the other half of me knows that the majority of resolutions won't be kept, so why make them to start with?

I suppose, in this case, the optimist in me wins out, and like millions of others, I make a resolution or two with good intentions. The pattern is familiar; most commonly, with fervor and seemingly untarnishable conviction, people swear to exercise more, eat less, work harder and save more money. There is absolutely nothing wrong with those pursuits, all of them respectable. Last year I swore up and down that I'd work out and get myself really fit, and back down to a single digit dress size. Here it is, the end of December, and I'm staring down a number I'd rather ignore. I guess what I'm getting at is, for me anyway, those kinds of resolutions are unattainable because in my own life they lack resonance and meaning. It's almost like they're lip service, a promise to keep for a few months and then break by means of apathy.

So this year I have a different set of Resolutions that mean more to me than the number on a tag.
- I am going to try and slow my life down. Life is hellaciously busy and I have workaholic tendencies. I've learned this year that I don't take enough time to take care of myself the way I should, to be with the people I care about and to just enjoy the day to day. It's time to make a conscious effort to relax.

- I want to get more projects done, to include my UFOs sitting in the bin in my sewing room. I want to try new and more difficult tenchniques, and finish them too. Really, my sights are set on expanding my skill set and really working towards being a better technical quilter.

- I want to go back to school for an art degree, to be put towards design. I have a plan, a master plan, and this is a piece of it.


What are your resolutions?
Oh, and happy anniversary to my parents, 27 years!