First entry for 2008

It's the morning of January 1 and we're finally all awake. My son and I tried to stay up until midnight last night but could only make it until 11:30 pm. I think we could have made it but it seemed silly somehow. We stayed up watching the DVD of the ninth season of Seinfeld that I got for Christmas and the movie Meet the Robinsons that my son got for Christmas. He enjoyed it when he saw it in the theater. I missed it in the theater but enjoyed it last night.

My first, and most obvious, New Year's Resolution is to write in this blog more often. But beyond that, I'd like to write better entries. Not so much to better entertain the three or four people who have seen my blog but to keep a better record of what is going on in my life and my family's life. I'd like to try to explain the circumstances better and talk more about our thoughts and feelings as we respond to events in our lives and what we make of our lives. I hope to explain more about how I do things at work (without revealing "secrets").

Another resolution is to be a better person. As a Christian, I should be spending more time helping those who need help. I should be spending more time encouraging people and not finding fault with them.

Another resolution is to lose some weight. I'm back up to about 220 pounds while the doctor says I should be closer to 190 or 200. Combined with this, though, I need to get in better shape. I'm slowing down and getting less flexible. I need to make sure I walk every day but also need to spend more time on different activities to keep my muscles from drying up and my joints from locking up.

I need to start practicing the piano more. Whenever I go to play a song, I notice how bad I've gotten and it gets worse every time I play something. Since I'm not playing for our church anymore (other than filling in when someone is away or sick), there is no opportunity to play.

I'm still walking at lunch and taking pictures but that has slowed down and I'm more apt to miss a walk during the colder, rainier weather. I need to take a change of socks to work (I already have walking boots there) in case I get wet at lunch. That is my number one reason for skipping a lunch-time walk - the worry that I'll have to sit all afternoon in wet socks! What a trauma in my otherwise sheltered and blessed life.

I hope we all have a wonderful new year. While I know that what is good for some is bad for others, I pray that we will all take each other into account as we make decisions in the coming year and, if possible, keep the consequences to others in mind as we make our decisions. Tomorrow, I go back to work after having taken four vacation days (we got Christmas Eve off). So, it's been eleven days off. Tomorrow is going to be tough. But it will only be a three day week and then comes another week-end. Then maybe I'll do all the things I said I was going to do these eleven days but didn't.