Resolved

I am not much for New Year's resolutions.  Life is constantly changing, every day and even every minute if you look at the cellular level.  I figure I need to resolve different things at different times depending on what is happening in my life.  However, on two instances, in my memory, have I made a New Year's Resolution.  The first was December 31st, 2004.  I was with my dad, step-mom, first husband and four younger siblings.  I had just finished graduate school and my husband and I had moved to the Pacific Northwest.  I resolved that year "To grab life by the horns."

And grab I did.  Five months after that I determined that my marriage was dead and, in fact, had been dead so long that it was rotting.  I left the marriage and started dating someone new approximately 30 seconds after that.  Five months after that I moved in with the someone new and 7 months after that I was pregnant.  I am still with the someone new.  He's not so new, now, but it feels like it was just yesterday, so he's new to me!  We got married when our daughter was 8 months old.

Also, during the last six months of 2005, I did the following: I studied for and passed the licensing exams to be a licensed clinical psychologist, I went on 4 weekend get aways, got a puppy, grew a garden, dyed my hair, made new friends, filed for divorce, updated the someone new's house so I could move in, got two pet rats and got two pet mice.

Fast forward to 2011.  I hadn't made a resolution since New Year's Eve 2004.  I determined that it was time to "Grab the bull by the horns again."   In 2012, I didn't as much as 2005, but it was a lot, nonetheless.  For financial purposes, my husband and I got a legal separation that year (you can read a little about that here).  I left the group practice after 9 years and started a smaller solo practice.  I also stopped adding children to my client load because I was burned out.  My daughter started Kindergarten.  My husband and I finished paying off $40,000 in credit card debt ($36,000 was accrued when I was pregnant because I was very ill but that is a very long, separate story).  We also bought a house and moved.

I didn't resolve anything for 2013 except to adjust to 2012's changes!   I also haven't resolved to do anything in particular for 2014.  I need to exercise more and I plan to write more.  But those two resolutions are not new, I've been working on those for the last 12 months and will continue working on them.  Otherwise, I am going to continue with the day to day resolutions.  I figure I can leave the bull alone for 5 years give or take!