Resolute With Resolutions
by BARBARA DICKINSON

O.K., crunch time it is. Before me are the words of Rilke that always inspire me at this time of the year:

‘And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.’

I feel as if those lines are directed solely at me, especially “things that have never been.”

With that in mind I am determined to get my New Year’s Resolutions down on paper this minute, before the blur of Christmas completely overwhelms me. And no matter how prepared I think I am, that blur definitely can wipe a person out mentally and physically.

When one falls asleep at the keyboard of a computer, it is time to acknowledge that the seasonal BLUR has hit. Serious sleep is the acknowledged remedy, but not before jotting down resolutions that keep jostling around above me, popping up with the frequency of firecrackers exploding in the air.

Some unseen spiritual conscience must be hovering up there, telling me that next year I must resolve to be a better person, a more organized person, a more caring and literate person. As the little girl Virginia was told, “If you see it in the paper, it is so.” If I write my resolutions down on paper, here before the public eye, they will have to be engraved upon my psyche and daily habits.

Here goes:

1. PATIENCE.

{Patience in all things, waiting for the eggs to boil, the dog to come in from the cold, the husband to finish his daily pill-taking, the postman to finish with the thirteen people in line before getting to my one letter, waiting in doctors’ offices for appointments that never seem to occur at the appointed hour. If I could buy PATIENCE by the bushel, I’d go broke just to have tons of it on hand. Definitely, that is my number one resolution: to be MORE patient.)

2. LABEL ALL LEFTOVERS PLACED IN FREEZER

Why do I think I’ll remember Tuesday’s leftovers (frozen in neat plastic cups) on Thursday week? Why does White Bean Chile look exactly like Turkey Hash after it has been frozen for two weeks? How many times do I have to pull out a green bean casserole thinking it is my treasured crab casserole and be horribly embarrassed when I have no main dish for dinner? Labels, labels, labels: I’ll keep a batch of blank ones in the cookbook cabinet. Promise!

3. CALL EACH CHILD AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK

This is a no-brainer. I’ve been fairly good this year but I can do better. Figuring out when to call is the sticky part, and disparate time zones don’t make it easier. At least my Prague child will be in the states so that makes calling simpler. I’m old-fashioned enough to still write to each child with some frequency but nothing takes the place of hearing a “hello”, or “hi, mom!”

4. FINISH THE NEW YORKER ON TIME

Why do I feel guilty when the new issue of this venerable weekly comes in and the last issue languishes on my bedside table? It is a habit of thirty-some years of reading my favorite magazine that makes me read it cover-to-cover before assigning it to the recycling bin. Lately too many good novels have taken priority in my limited reading hours.

I’m just one issue behind at the moment; surely that cannot be too bad a start for the new year.

5. DEADLINES

Meeting deadlines gives me fits. Not always, but I have been known to get right down to the wire. This year will see me submitting corrected copy WAY AHEAD of deadlines! (All of my patience, labeling, calling, reading will help me become better organized and voila! No missed deadlines. For sure.

So here you are, gentle reader, a modest list of five resolutions. I am sure there are dozen of other things I should have, could have noted, such as losing the 12 pounds of fudgey fat that must go, work on erasing worry lines across my brow, walk the dog more vigorously, stop debating about getting another puppy. But enough is enough!

There, I feel better, all committed to paper. Have a Happy New Year, one and all!

P.S. For readers of my December column who have inquired: I bought a llama through my favorite charity. In my mind I have named her Tinker Bell.

Barbara Dickinson is a Roanoke-based novelist and freelance writer.