The List

Well it's New Year's Eve, I'm full of pizza and cheesesteak from the local Italian lunch buffet, and I'm tired of packing Christmas decorations so I think it's time to write the list.

You know, the resolution list for the new year. I think we all have at least one item on the resolution list each year. Even those people who say "I don't have a list because I never keep my resolutions anyway." Well there ya go....not keeping your resolutions is your resolution and that's your list. Generally losing weight and getting organized are in the top tier of announced resolutions. Fine, admirable objectives, but they're awfully hard to obtain given that they always seem to be at the top of the list year year.

Here's my list for 2010:

1. Start exercising daily again. I was doing pretty good with this one until about October, when I got super busy with making things for the craft show. Then it was my birthday, Halloween, the craft show, new house, trip to Vegas, Thanksgiving, a whole month of holiday festivities in December and now packing to move. Whew! That's three solid months of busy-ness cushioned with cakes, candy, and cookies. Now I'm feeling more cushioned than I like and it's time to get back to using the elliptical machine again. I'm not going list "I want to lose more weight" as a resolution because that will come with the exercise if I just stick to it, plus I don't want to jinx myself.

2. Cultivate patience. This is a big one with me as I tend to get very hung up on efficiency and productivity within a given time period, whereas my two and a half year old daughter has no concept of "efficiency", "productivity", or even just "time" unless it's associated with naps or snacks. The reality of it is that Ally isn't likely to hurry up and stop dawdling anytime soon, so I need to be the one to change. I need to slow down, let some non-important things slide for awhile, and generally be more patient with her. Taking an occasional nap myself probably wouldn't hurt me. In fact, the dog would be delighted to have company on the sofa and I suspect that my husband would be grateful if I wasn't so dang cranky at times.

3. Make more time for family and friends. Relationships don't form out of thin air. They require time and effort, else they deteriorate and disappear over time. It's bad enough if you lose a friendship through neglect, but sometimes they can be repaired with effort and time if you're lucky. It's really bad when you wake up one day to discover that not only is the relationship gone, but so is the person, and you'll never get the chance to re-establish your friendship again.

4. Focus on my writing. This means something a little more robust than just posting to my blog.

5. Potty training for Ally. Enough said, but this will require a whole lot of Resolution #2.

6. Make the three lap quilts I've already planned and started.

I'll cap off my list at six items this year. I could easily add "Get organized" to my list, but that really means, "Get Ally's baby book completed, organize my digital photos, clean up my crafting supplies, clean out the closets and pantry, etc." No sense in getting all crazy now.

Bad Manners

Yesterday we took our two year old to the local Chik-Fil-A so she could climb on the play equipment as a post-nap treat. Perhaps I should have taken a nap, too. All of us have had a cold, cough, or variant of the creeping crud on and off for two weeks now. Even though I wasn't feeling very sick, I haven't been getting enough sleep as Ally's coughing keeps me awake. I tend to be a light sleeper and jolt awake when I hear Ally coughing in the middle of the night. Lately I've been getting up 4-6 times each night to check on her. Although I'm dead certain that she's coughing hard enough to make herself throw up, the coughing doesn't seem to bother Ally one bit as most of the time she doesn't even wake up as I replace her covers. Regardless, the interrupted sleep is starting to wear on me and tends to make me really, REALLY cranky.

So there we were, sitting in the playground area watching Ally climb in, up, over, through, and down the play equipment. I could have laid down on the bench and taken a nap, but Ally wanted to make sure we were watching her every moment. "MOMMY! DADDY!" she yelled at each observation bubble and tunnel opening, just to make sure we hadn't moved since she last called for us thirty seconds ago. Then she'd move four feet farther into a tunnel and yell again at the next window. We're working on what's an appropriate "inside" voice, but small children don't come with a volume control. I'm pretty sure that's why the play area is in an area separated from the dining room by glass walls and doors.

The play area was a pretty popular place yesterday, with three or four other children monkeying over the equipment. One girl was about 8 years old with long wavy blonde hair and wearing a pink and brown knit dress with flowers, polka dots, and stripes. Clearly she was the queen bee of the playground, directing the other children around, learning the names of the other kids, offering to go get any stragglers up at the top, and asking the parents if she could play with their kids' toys if the kids themselves didn't let her. I didn't care for her bossy nature and blankly ignored her as much as I could, even though she tried to engage me by telling me that those shoes in the cubby were hers and not to let Ally mess with them, and could I please move over so she could sit on the bench with me? Her father was sitting in the restaurant and appeared to be watching her, but obviously wasn't within hearing distance of his child.

A few minutes later the girl climbed up into the play structure, turned around, and told me that I looked pretty. Her comment didn't even register with me the first time, so she made a point of telling me again. Startled, I told her thank you, but didn't say anything else to her. Soon afterwards her father came into the play area to collect his daughter and they left.

Little girl, I'm sorry that I behaved the way I did. I haven't been getting enough sleep and was in a less than stellar mood, but I still could have been more polite to you. I should have asked you your name as you clearly wanted to interact with other people yesterday. I saw a woman with a young baby sitting at the table with you and your father earlier. You probably have a young sister now and are trying to adjust to the new addition in the family. You're also approaching the edge of the cliff that drops off scarily into puberty, and you may be bewildered by the chasm ahead of you. I should have admired your self-confidence instead of dismissing it so lightly as being bossy. I could have at least told you to have a good afternoon as you left, but what bothers me most is that I never even thought of telling you that you are pretty, too.