Thursday, December 31, 2009

Resolving: A post for the new year

The weather says, "occasional scattered snow, accumulation around an inch". They must be having a funny little joke together at Binghamton weather underground because its not scattering, its falling heavily out of the sky and its accumulating a lot more than an inch. I could go on from here and make this post about how much I hate the weather and how I intend that to be the defining essence of myself in the new year, but you would probably all stop reading.

We (Matt and me) are currently working (or should it be Matt and I? oh dear) are currently working through a great grand Thank You post for Stand Firm relentlessly detailing the blessings of God and the overwhelming generosity of Stand Firm readers over this year. On pain of repeating any of that, I would rather, as I watch this wretched snow, sort through what I've learned and what I hope to do, starting tomorrow.

God is Good

I know this might come as a surprise to some of you. It certainly constantly surprises me. Matt and I joked when we got married and God clearly called us to Binghamton, NY, a place of which we knew nothing except that in April it can still be really cold, that we had been put on the 'Death and Suffering Plan'. Christians, the joke goes, can be on the 'Happiness and Joy Plan' or the 'Death and Suffering Plan' and it was clear from the weather alone which was to be our lot. This year showed the joke was on us. To go from a house overwhelmed with stuff with a funny lay out and a yard that eluded us, a church that was lovely but too small, not enough parking, bad insulation, leaks all over, no possibility of expansion to, well, the happiness an joy plan has completely blown apart my understanding of the goodness and priorities of God. Turns out he does want people to come to church, and he does love Anglican music (sometimes) and he does think a functioning home and church space is important. How do I know this? Because he's done all that this year.

Babies are always a good idea

I knew this already but I don't think anyone believed me. It may shock many of you but Marigold is a premeditated baby. Shortly after moving here it became very clear that the best way to settle in to a new house and leave behind the grief of leaving the place where all four of our babies had been born, was to have another baby. And we've been proven right. The month of her birth was, at least for me, a turning point in gratitude and grief.

Too much stuff is bad
I don't think this needs too much elaboration. Getting rid of half our worldly goods in the summer was almost as exciting and wonderful as having a new baby. (I'm only slightly joking.)

So, I really only have like 5 or 6 resolutions for the new year. I don't want to over do it.
Resolutions
1. Keep on top of the stuff. We don't have too much and I'd like to keep it that way.
2. Read the Bible straight through.
3. Take reasonable exercise and eat moderately.
4. Move in slow motion. With this many children, the moment I start running in a panic everything seems to come apart. The last week or so I've been trying to clean and cook with deliberate very slow movements. I think I get more done the slower I move because, as a very wise person once said, "those who don't think with their heads, run with their feet". The slower you move, the more time you have to think. This will also be my homeschooling policy in the new year. Instead of shouting "Hurry Up and finish your math so that we can do something else" I'm going to say quietly "Huuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyy uppppppppppppppppppppppppp aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnddd" just kidding.
5. I'm going to read the Lord of the Rings. I've never read it, due to fear, so I'm going to suck it up and read it during the day so that I'll be able to sleep at night. I have a serious problem with nightmares.
6. Convince Matt to let us have a lot more pets.

That's it.
OHHH wait.
and 7. Stay on top of taking and sending pictures. I'm going to actually plan it into my daily life instead of just hoping it will happen when I get a "free moment" as if any such thing exists.
Happy New Year!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year to all of you!
Love, Megan

Joyce Carlson said...

Happy New Year from me too. xo

Anonymous said...

I don't know what weather forecast you're reading, but I'm hearing 2-4 inches.

Happy New Year!

r said...

Oh wow. I kinda forgot that it was going to be New Year's (I got a card that said 'have a great 2010,' and I spent 5 minutes trying to work out what a zolo was....) I have 4 hours to come up with some resolutions....

~R

Kellie said...

Though I haven't reread them in several years, I really like the Lord of the Rings books. But I'd say don't feel guilty if you find yourself skimming the battle scenes. They're a little fuzzy in my head, but I remember having the conviction that no one really needs that many pages of description of battle scenes. Other than that, the books are good and fun.

Jessica Snell said...

I'm almost done reading the Bible straight through - it was last year's resolution, and I'm about a week from finishing, so not bad.

I used this chronological plan:

http://www.ewordtoday.com/year/50/cjan01.htm

I'd never read the whole thing chronologically before, and I enjoyed it.

We're listening to Lord of the Rings right now, during the evenings, after the kids have gone to bed. It's what we listen to while we clean up and do dishes and such. Very peaceful (even though it's about such terrible events). It's worth pushing past Bombadil (who I've never liked) in order to get to the good stuff.

Jessica Snell said...

Anne, I want to try the "slowly" thing. That sounds like exactly what I need.

And with LOTR . . . it's so worth pushing past the part with Tom Bombadil. I know everyone says you should like him, but I never have, and I really think the story gets much better once you get past that point.

Polly said...

Yes to number 5. Such a good yarn that Tolkien weaved.