I ran into my next door neighbor while I was food shopping the other day. I hate running into people while I’m running errands. I have no patience for idle chit-chat on the canned sauces and pasta aisle. I want to get my rigatoni and roasted tomatoes and head for the checkout, y’know? But, politeness calls for acknowledgment when nearly bumping chests with one’s neighbor of almost eight years.
Of course, the first thing he says is, “I never see you out. I would never even know you were over there. I don’t even see you let Henry out.”
(Henry, as you may recall, is the dog.)
Hmm. Perhaps I need to spend more time in the yard? I don’t know. In any case, my response is that he must hear Henry barking.
To which he says, “Yeah, when you’re out there feeding those raccoons. Now you’ve got me feeding them, too.”
(You may also recall that I am soft-hearted and feed wild animals.)
We went on to talk about how awful it will be if the woods behind our houses is sold and developed (with me lamenting what will happen to all the wildlife-- I don’t have room for all of them in my house!), but that one little comment made me extraordinarily happy. My next door neighbor-- the guy who goes hunting-- is putting food out for the raccoons. My raccoons. Not only does he put food out for them, he was able to describe them to me. He sounded downright fond of them, even. It warmed my little heart, right there on the canned sauces and pasta aisle.
That’s what it’s all about, you know. Changing the world one good deed-- and one raccoon-- at a time.
Sorry I’ve been away. A bad cold/virus/plague thing came to visit me on Wednesday night and doesn’t want to leave. I have all of the fun symptoms: fever, aching joints, chills, stuffy head, headache, sore throat, nasty cough. Exciting stuff. Hopefully it will pass soon…
After two and a half weeks of being home, Jay is back in Rhode Island and I’m living along again. The good news is… he’ll only be gone for another 7 weeks. The bad news is… once he’s back, he’ll only be home for 7 weeks. Deployment 2008, here we come.
Between Jay being home, the holidays and being sick, I have enjoyed a semi-relaxing two-week vacation. Spring semester starts tomorrow and I still have a ton of reading and work to do before I’m ready. I also have to commit to what class I’m going to take this semester. Long story, but it’s a choice between the boring class and the fun class. The boring class meets a requirement for my Women’s Studies certificate, the fun class… well, it would just be fun. Work-writing fun, but still. Right now, fuzzy from cold medicine and feeling blue, I’m seriously leaning toward the fun class. I need to decide… by tomorrow. Of course, the reality is I don’t need to take a class at all, but I feel like I should. I’m weird that way-- it’s part of the “learn something new” resolution I make for myself every year.
I’m starting to work on one of my other New Year’s resolutions, too. I’ve joined Good Reads in an attempt to nudge myself to read more this year. I have started adding books and reviews. Stop by if you’re a member-- I need some friends! Hopefully Book Club will be up and running sometime in 2008, too. Yay, reading! (I’m such a geek.)
Okay, that’s my Sunday evening update. I’m going back to watching the season premier of The L-Word. I’ll go ahead and say it for everyone else who is watching: Jenny needs to die.
In 2008, I resolve to…
--Survive the year with humor, grace and self-sufficiency.
Jay will be gone for a ridiculous amount of time this year. I am dealing with some health stuff. Life has a way of kicking me when I’m down. All good reasons to make this my number one resolution.
--Read more. A lot more.
Like most writers I know, I find myself reading fewer and fewer books as the years go by. I need to read more—outside of academic writing and other people’s blogs. I’m making this a priority in 2008. Book Club will be back!
--Make some art.
I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but I find myself wanting to create something besides words on a page. My word ornament was a start—I want to make more art and maybe take a class. I also want to take more pictures and do something with them beyond uploading them to my computer.
--Plan a trip-- or two.
Sheri and I are talking about taking an anniversary trip in 2008. 20 years of enduring friendship deserves a celebration. Jay will be all over the map and meeting up with him in some far-flung location is also a possibility. I know I’m going to be reluctant to plan any trips this year—for a variety of reasons—so perhaps if I make it a resolution, I’ll stick by it.
--Make some new friends—especially female friends.
I’m feeling the need for more women in my life.
--Write every day. Every day.
I have several major projects I want to complete this year and the only way it’s going to happen is if I write every day. I won’t be able to accomplish 365 days of writing, but if I can manage at least 250 days of writing, I will be content.
--Learn something new.
This year, I really want to take at least one non-academic class and perhaps work on learning a foreign language.
--Nurture myself.
Massages, manicures, meditation, Pilates and yoga. Medical appointments as required, new glasses to replace the ones that have been sliding down my nose for three months, home cooked meals instead of cheese sandwiches. More rest, less stress. Cutting out the toxic stuff and unnecessary drama and replacing it with peace and balance. I will accomplish this in 2008.
Happy New Year… make it count!
Before I contemplate my resolutions ("goals") for 2008, I thought I would take a look back and see if I accomplished what I set out to do in 2007. Won’t you join me?
In 2007, I resolved to…
Finish my M.A. in Humanities. I accomplished this in May.
Apply to the MFA in Creative Writing program at Bennington College. I had actually forgotten about this resolution. I was fixated on MFA programs toward the end of 2006 but have been caught up in finishing my MA and working on my certificate in Women’s Studies. I won’t rule it out for 2008, however.
Develop a five-year plan… but don’t be constrained by it. I drafted this out over the summer. I actually went to ten years, though there are a lot of blanks to fill in.
Celebrate my fortieth birthday. Really celebrate it. I think spending a week in my favorite city-- London-- counts as really celebrating my fortieth birthday.
Keep learning… even when I’m not in the classroom. I didn’t take any non-academic classes as I had planned, but I did learn a lot about teaching a class. I am not completely satisfied with this one, though. I should have learned more this year.
Be as good to myself as I am to others. This is another one I don’t think I accomplished entirely. It’s a work in progress.
Take a chance on something big. I wrote and sold my first novella, but I don’t know if that counts as something big. This was intended to be my wildcard resolution-- to encourage myself to say “yes” to whatever adventures the universe throws my way. Not an accomplishment so much as a reminder.
So… what to resolve for 2008? Travel, education, health, adventure… what else? I have four days to figure it out!
What do you resolve to do in 2008?
--My little blue and silver Christmas tree that is next to my bed and makes me smile with it’s shiny, happy twinkly lights went phzzzzbt. Or something like that. The lights blew. I don’t know why. Now it just sits there, still shiny in blue and silver, but not happy or twinkly.
--The festive red Amaryllis bulb that I bought before Thanksgiving in hopes that it would bloom in time for Christmas has… not bloomed. In fact, I think it may be rotting. Ewww…
--The big Christmas tree remains bare with the exception of my word ornament. I’m starting to think I like a “natural” tree (as natural as you can get when it’s artificial and pre-lit with white lights,of course).
--I have received a meager four holiday cards. Granted, I’ve only sent… well, one… but still.
--All of my out-of-state packages have been mailed, which means no last minute standing in line, anticipating the last minute arrival of my gifts. I think that’s supposed to be a good thing, but I feel like I’m missing out on something.
--I’m tired of turkey and I don’t want to make a ham or a roast for Christmas Eve dinner. Pizza, anyone?
--I could care less about going to the mall in the next nine days. (Again, a good thing, and yet...)
--It has been terribly warm here. Granted, it’s starting to cool off again, but it’s hard to trust that it will last when two short days ago it was nearly 80.
--All I want to do is finish grading essays so I can curl up on the couch and watch movies. (Unfortunately, I have a lot of work to do over the break.)
Of course, Charlie Brown’s Christmas didn’t turn out so bad, right??
Life. Love. Writing. Friendship.
Sex. Books. Movies. Travel. Politics. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Rants. Raves. Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Some names have been changed, some stories have been embellished. Thanks for stopping by and beware of the dog. Read more...
