Another Year

Between my birthday, which was Sunday, and the end of the calendar year, I usually get all self-reflective. I think a lot about the things that worked, and didn’t work so well, over the last year, and about what I hope for in the year to come.

37 was a surprisingly eventful year:

• Noah turned 1, learned to walk and talk, and transitioned from “baby” to “toddler.”
• We had a major change in our plans for growing our family, switching from trying to get Jill pregnant, to me going again.
• I started trying again, and it’s been quite the roller-coaster. Today is Day 5 of the “two week wait.” (Or as we in the ttc community say it, I’m 5DPO.)
• I had lasik surgery. I can see clearly, without glasses or contacts, for the first time in 29 years. Before the surgery, I could see clearly for 6 or 7 inches in one eye, and 8 or 9 inches in the other eye. I love the results. I haven’t had any problems, and the only ongoing stuff I have to do is put regular old eyedrops in my eyes in the morning, and occasionally at night.
• Jill and I went to my 20 year high school reunion.
• I hit my peak non-pregnant weight.
• I started exercising — I have been swimming at the gym 10 times in the last 3 weeks. I’ve increased my distance from .32 of a mile to .39, both in 20-22 minutes.
• My company went through a massive restructuring and laid off half the staff. My job changed less than most, although I have a new boss and a few new responsibilities.

Although I could not have imagined what this year would be like, I still like to think about what I hope for and imagine about year 38 & 2008.

As I’ve been thinking about it, what I keep coming back to is commitment. Commitment to my health, commitment to having another baby, commitment to Jill and Noah being happy and healthy, commitment to taking my writing seriously, and commitment to my own professional development.

Those things are also all about love — loving my family, loving myself, loving what I do. They’re about passion and vitality.

And aside from the almost-two temper tantrums, I think the next year is also going to be about fun. Most of the time, Noah is so much fun! I hear that gets better and better as it gets easier for him to communicate. Plus Jill got us all season tickets (partial season plan) for the new Atlanta WNBA team, so we’ll have some pre-planned social outlets. (With other families like ours, and with eye candy!)

I hereby declare that 38 is going to be all about bringing on my passion and vitality, in all aspects of my life. That, and having a baby.

I’m going to break that down into some more concrete bites. During the year of 38 and/or 2008, I will:

• Have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.
• Keep up with my swimming and have gone swimming 100 times by the time the baby is born.
• Earn at least $1000 from my writing, including blog ads. (This one is going to be a stretch!)
• Implement my ideas for improving the flow of my day to day work. (This one I need to keep vague here, but my point is that currently I let the immediate demands get in the way of planning and implementing a system that would make those demands easier in the future.)
• See to it that Noah is in a day care program where we are confident that he is happy, safe, and learning, in an environment that respects families like ours.
• Find a way to have a date with my wife at least once per month.

And if all my will and intentionality and planning and hoping and loving for this new baby don’t work? I will get my BMI into the normal range before I turn 39.