Revisiting New Year's Resolutions

Child #2 (my 15 year old son) and I stayed up until 2:30 AM this morning reading.* Just the two of us.

The house was quiet and peaceful. He was sprawled out on the couch; I was curled up in the La-Z-Boy with Dorothy the Dog. We made quesadillas about one o'clock, then returned to reading.

I'm writing about this because it's unusual. Although Child #2 is probably the child most like me (except he's smarter and blonder and calmer), he's pulling away more and more. He'd rather be by himself or with his friends or with Child #3 (I'm so glad these two still get along so well).

As 2009 opens, I find myself living with three teen boys.** Three teen boys whose goal it is to connect less and less with me. Who, quite frankly, are often noisy and opinionated and not always pleasant to be around.

And it occurred to me that my New Year's resolutions are too simple; that I took the easy road.

Do I need to take my vitamins daily? Do I need to exercise regularly? Do I need to return my library books on time? Yes. Yes. Yes. But I think this is the year to push the envelope with resolutions. And those resolutions are not pushing any envelopes.

So...I will definitely keep the above three. I will also keep the resolution about watching a movie a month because this is a way to connect with these teens of mine. It means I often end up watching movies of little interest to me, but that's just where I am in life right now.

I'm still finetuning a resolution vis-a-vis these teens. But I believe it's important to get one in there.

I should also add resolutions dealing with decluttering, keeping abreast of the news and providing more homecooked meals. But I'm not going to to. If I heap anymore on my New Year's plate, I'll panic and accomplish nothing.


There is a really nice interview with me up on Authorlink. Susan Vanhecke did a great job putting it together.

* Child #2 is reading Brisinger by Christopher Paolini. I'm reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
**Yes, DH and 8 year old Child #4 still live here too. ;)

And, uh, Happy New Year all over again!

January Book Winners

Child #4 donned her extra-large $4.00 Walmart high heels and chose the following names. Oh wait! There were so many names of wonderful bloggy commenters that we felt bad only choosing two. So, we chose four. Besides, it helps with my decluttering resolution. And, quite frankly, I am not doing well with the New Year's resolutions. This is the first year that I've been so negligent.

Anyway, anyway, anyway. Child # 4, with great pomp and circumstance, chose four names. I chose five books. Five, because we don't want the last person not to have a choice. Name #1 gets her/his choice of one of the five books; Name #2 gets his/her choice of one of four books; and so on, down the line.

Here are the five books (in alpha order by the authors' last name):

A Good House by Bonnie Burnard (Adult)
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter (Young Adult)
Slam by Nick Hornby (Young Adult)
Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes (Adult)
Light My Fire by Katie MacAlister (Adult)

And (drum roll) the winners are:

1. Jim D
2. candycana
3. J. Cheney
4. Beth at Blind as a Bat

So, shoot me an email at barrieDOTsummyATgmailDOTcom. Congratulations!

So, um, how is everyone doing with their New Year's Resolutions? Is it just me, or is this a particularly tough year for keeping them???