The Word of the Day

THE WORD OF THE DAY

Today I started something new with my first graders. It’s called “THE WORD OF THE DAY”.  (Please, when you read it, pretend the guy from the Price is Right is saying it like he says “C’MON ON DOWN...” because that’s how we say it in first grade.) The word today was “resolution”. Dictionary.com defines it as "the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc." The Scholastic children’s dictionary was easier to understand. I remember it saying something like “a promise you make to yourself to do something.”  Dang! A promise to myself? You mean if I mess up on these resolutions I will be letting myself down? uh oh.

I wouldn’t say that maintaining my resolution deserves a FAIL yet, but I’ve been less than perfect with my 3 resolutions…meditation, exercise, training. The only one that I have managed to accomplish each day of 2012 is meditation. I have done TM, prayed, and thought through some tough stuff on the way home today. As for exercise…I tried to take a walk on Sunday and after one lap around my street, the wind blew me back inside. Monday and Tuesday I made no attempt to exercise. On my log I typed, “I suck” and I do. Yesterday I counted moving furniture from room to room and around the room to vacuum as my exercise. It was a stretch I know, but I didn’t want a third “I suck” in a row.

My effort on the dog training resolution has been so-so. Each day I’ve done something small, but I have not spent the time that I know it needs. Riptide does know “wait” better than he did four days ago and will do a down without a hand gesture 50% of the time. But, Wrigley still won’t let me clip his nails and Reba still barks too much and chews up all toys. There is still tons of work to be done!!!

I’ve cut back on the online game time. I only maintain one farm in Farmville and play Castleville briefly…only because the “beasties” crack me up and I like the idea of owning a castle. But instead of filling the time with exercise, I have read the newspaper from front to back, completed a crossword puzzle or two, and started picking out stuff for the bathroom remodel. Oh, and eaten lots of chocolate and pinned a bunch of stuff on Pinterest.

As a result I’ve gained 3 stinking pounds. The short term solution to make myself feel better is to wear clothes that are too big. That makes me feel skinny. The long term solution is that I will most likely have to micromanage my day and schedule everything. That never ends well, but I don’t know what else to do. Also, I need to hide the carbs and get back on the 17 day diet…the first 17 days.

This all leads me to my next meditation: What was the purpose of my resolutions? And how will I not let myself down? The answers are necessary so I don't break the promises I made to myself.