Resolved . . .

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, but a couple of things have been nudging at me, so I'll give 'em a try. They are small things that may or may not make much of a difference in my life, but at least I'll be able to check them off a list and feel as though I'm accomplishing something when I start drowning in the Sea of Overwhelm. Here goes:

1. Count my steps. Yup. Ordered a pedometer the other day, and it should arrive by the end of the week. I've always been a walker (ask anyone who knows me) and have been curious about how much I do walk in a day. Rumor has it, one should try for 10,000 steps a day. I've no idea what my daily count is, but I want to know.

2. Rediscover Walter. The book I started writing two years ago really stalled out in 2006, due mainly, I think, to my move to NY and the other big changes in my life. Add that to the fact that I've lost a good chunk of what I wrote at the end of 2005 (maybe the loss is for the good), and I haven't had the heart to begin again. But now it's time to return to Walter's life and begin again, if that's what's called for. I will try to write a little every day.

3. Hand-write a note or letter to someone at least once a week. When Mother died in 2004, I was so lifted up by the hand-written cards and notes I received in the mail from friends, most of whom didn't know Mother at all. For a few months after that, I was diligent in writing a note to at least one person a week - a birthday card, a get-well message, a congratulations note, whatever. It was tough at first, getting back into the habit of handwritten - as opposed to email - correspondence, but I soon re-mastered it. I will go to the post office on Wednesday (I think it's closed tomorrow in honor of Gerald Ford) and get some great stamps, so that I'll be ready to roll.

That's it. That's as much as I can commit to right now, and I'll be lucky to keep up with these. I do not resolve to lose weight, eat right, or make more money. If any of that happens, well and good, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I will do my job to the best of my ability, maintain old friendships and crank up a few new ones, and try not to succumb to cynical pessimism (though, oh!, how easy that would be).