To be honest, I'm not sure I'm ready to post New Year's goals. I haven't worked out all the fine details yet. Goals have to have details, you know.
I feel I was very successful at reaching (or reaching toward) last year's goals. We made it to Disneyland in record time. I can't believe we made that goal so quickly! It's a great example of "once you put your mind to something..."
And though I'm not a model of Christian kindness yet, I have greatly improved in my ability to squelch gossip. To help me remember my manners, I printed a scripture and hung it on the partition by my computer at work. It says, "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile." 1 Peter 3:10. I think displaying that scripture had an unintended but pleasant side effect. My coworker has almost completely quit cussing in front of me, and quickly apologizes whenever anything slips. She has also been more open about discussing religion with me, and has offered to pray for me or my kids several times. What a nice change of atmosphere it has been!
So for this year... (drum roll, please): I have a rather vague idea that I want to "run a race with Mom." My mom has been a hero in my eyes all my life, but when she ran her first marathon 18 months ago, I was in absolute awe. She happened to be captured smack in the middle of the local newspaper's front page photograph of the race, and I have that paper pinned to the wall above my dresser so that I can admire her accomplishment every day.
It seems everywhere I turn somebody else I know is running marathons. I've seen and heard of only a portion of the training my mom has undergone to prepare for such a mammoth race. I can't fathom how anybody finds the time for it! So, although I respect and admire all of you out there who are far above me in athletic ability and determination, my New Year's goal is much more humble. I'm going to shoot for a 5K.
As I said before, the details are very foggy. When is this alleged race? When will I train for it? How will I train for it? Do I have any idea what I'm getting myself into?! These are all questions that still need answering.
My second goal was inspired by my sweet daughter's example. Last March one of Autumn's classmates committed suicide, supposedly because she was bullied into believing she had nothing to live for. It hit Autumn very hard, but instead of moping, she took a proactive attitude. She has taken to complimenting people wherever she goes. Her compliments are usually little things like, "I like your hair" or "Cool shoes!" but she is always sincere. Sometimes she gets funny looks or even rude comments back. But she has kept it up, believing she is making lives better and perhaps saving the next Eden.
Too often I admire somebody or something and never say anything. I'm worried that I'll look silly or make others feel awkward if I compliment them. That's dumb! So that is my second New Year's goal: to speak up more often when I see positives in the world. We need more uplifting things pointed out to us in life, don't you think?
I got into running by enrolling my daughter in the Girls on the Run program. For 4-6th grade girls. That might be something to look into for dipping your feet in the 5k-waters. It's not timed which helped me big time. It's also service too if you don't enroll your own girls. You can sponsor another girl and you get to meet them 2 meetings before the actual 5K.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - I love that Autumn is doing that... she's making a difference. I remember clearly one instance where somebody gave me a compliment and though I felt awkward at the time, it's one I held (and still hold!) dearly. So YES - we need more uplifting things pointed out to us! :)
Good job on all of it. Rooting for ya!