CORNER Resolutions Schmezolutions
I am old enough, wise enough and good looking enough to know better and for the most part I am successful in not making New Year’s resolutions. There have and will be exceptions to my self-imposed resolve not to resolute, some more successful than others and some failures that were reason enough to quit making resolutions….ha!
Six years ago I made a resolution on New Year’s Eve to quit smoking (tobacco), as I have for every New Year’s Eve for 40 years, but that year I worked up the courage to quit smoking for good…I hope. The first time I quit smoking as a New Year’s resolution, ciggys cost an outrageous 50 cents a pack, then I quit when they reached a buck a pack, then I quit again when they reached 2 bucks a pack, and then every few years since then. I seem to be able to quit with amazing regularity. Six years ago on the Labour Day weekend I paid $12 for a pack of coffin (coughing) nails and I had enough! That was a successful resolution all 10 or 12 times. One of my best failed resolutions from “many” years ago (frequency and chronologic) was the stupid idea I could lose weight and I proved it was a stupid idea over and over. Januaries were always filled with new and exciting foods and fads with some of the new foods being much easier to stomach than the fads.
I tried a new fitness fad one January called “Planking” which is where you prop yourself on your elbows in a rigid push-up-like stance and hold that position for one minute at a time. Easy peasy right? A one minute exercise for a lazy weekend athlete? No problem amigo. Wrong! One minute in that stance seems and feels like an entire hockey training camp all rolled into the first half minute and then an entire hockey season rolled into the next 30 seconds. Planks should be made into tables.
Some of the new and exciting foods actually were old and exciting like that hippy health food stuff…yogurt. It can be tasty on its own or as an ingredient in many other foods replacing rich and fatty creams. If I had not been daring and adventurous, not to mention good looking I would never have replaced my beloved ice cream with frozen yogurt which didn’t make me flatulent, much to the relief of my beautiful and understanding bride. I have decided that my weight will be what it is and as long as I am active, healthy and in shape I will be satisfied, besides round is a shape! Yet another successful resolution.
I know there can be improvement on my yearly attempts at self-improvement so I try to improve the quality of my improvements to make up for the quantity of my self-improvements. In other words I only make resolutions that I know I can achieve like last year’s resolution to visit the library more often. This was easily successful after I built a tiny library with our Granddaughter this summer and I visit the library every week when I roll the garbage can down to the end of the driveway where the “library” is located. Another notch on my successful resolution belt.
If I was going to make a resolution, and I might, I would consider the adage of
“Nothing ventured…nothing gained” and then I would try to make the nothing gained part of the old saying…to be weight! Please have a Happy New Year and may your resolutions be successful.