Resolutions

At first (on the 1st, rather) I thought maybe I wouldn't bother making any New Year's resolutions. Schmesolutions. I'm working hard enough, aren't I? I suppose I could resolve to do less! So anyway, I pushed it to the back of my mind where it continued to percolate until these couple of thoughts emerged:

1) We've been married eight (wonderful) years now, and have lived in 6 different places, and have moved ten times. We anticipate moving again later this year, and then moving once more into our permanent, last, final home. The good that has come of this nomadic lifestyle is that we have learned to be patient, flexible, good at putting off gratification and realizing that some needs are really wants (such as new furniture, large wardrobes and nice home decor.) Thanks to kind, generous, accommodating family allowing us to stay with them as we have hopped from place to place, we have been able to pay off school debt, save a little money, and hopefully have become more humble and grateful as well.

So, no, the resolution is not to continue to roam, though we have learned many positive things. The downside of our temporariness was that I found myself thinking "temporarily" too. My bedroom dressers are piled with papers that need to be filed, children's art supplies, pictures and prints that need to be framed, etc. But, though it bugs me, I found myself thinking: We're not going to be here for long . . . I don't have storage space for that right now . . . I don't have anywhere to hang those . . . When we're in our own home . . . (Enter President Monson's talk - Finding Joy in the Journey. And Pres. Julie Beck's, too, from last Spring.) I began hearing myself and realized I needed to make my home - and my life! - the way I wanted it to be - right now. So there it is. My goal is to suck it up, be a little more creative and resourceful, realize how green my current pastures are, and live right now.

2) My second goal is a little more concrete and completable - yay! I want to work on our personal histories. Starting with all of our family videos, I want to gather, edit and burn them onto DVD. And I want to gather and compile all of Mike's and my correspondence. And that's it. I'll consider that goal completed. (If I'm super ambitious, I'll type out our mission journals. Though that, especially considering Mike's creative handwriting - love you babe! - is probably a goal for another year.)

Okay, there you have it. Now that I've written it here, I have to do it, right?

Happy New Year, everyone!