Thoughts for a New Year

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions as a rule. Everyone is big on making resolutions for the new year as though the date were somehow a mystical assurance of success. The beginnings of things and the ends of things carry significance and weight. So, when we want to make changes in our lives, we piggyback on those weighty moments. I think it makes our lives and our decisions feel more important. I don't think we need an occasion to make changes in our lives. If something is important, to steal a phrase overused to the point of triteness, "just do it."

That being said, there are some changes I want to make for this year. They say that becoming a mother changes things, and it's true in the sense that it puts things in perspective. There's no real good way to say it, over the last few years I've gotten lazy and I don't want to watch my life pass like that. So I guess, I have a couple "New Year's Resolutions."

Most of them are not worth sharing (clean out the basement).  I can't even claim to be particularly interesting (limit video games to 2 hours a week). I'm like any other woman with the same boring concerns (finally drop the baby weight). So don't expect to hear to much about them(blog every day).

However, there are a couple of changes that are important to me and that I do not mind sharing. First, I always identified myself as a reader. I tell people that I read between 100 and 200 books a year, and while that certainly has been true in the past, I've been averaging about 40 books a year over the last 5 years. While that's nothing to sneeze at, (28% of Americans haven't read a single book in the last year) it's still not where I used to be and where I want to be.

Second, I want to become a better teacher. I'm not saying that I'm bad now. Actually, in some ways, I'm very good. However, with the stress of the last few years and the stress of the population I teach, I've let myself get a little complacent. Enough of that. I want to inspire my students to love reading and I don't care if they love the canonical classroom lit. I just want them to read. I want them to write and have a voice that sounds like them. I want them to be able to find their own stories and find what's important to them to write about. More than anything, I want my students to be able to think through a problem or a question. I don't want them to have to rely on waiting for the "smart kid" to respond first. I want them to care and be comfortable with caring.

Third, and most important, I want to write more. It's too easy to blame it on teaching, or being a mother, or being busy, or whatever. If I found time for video games then there is time for writing. There just is. I have a friend who suggested 10 words a day in the blog. I suspect he was being sarcastic but he's right, I can do better.

So yes. Here I go: New Year - Let's do it. Even if I always could have decided to do these things, for once I'm going to try riding the wave with the rest of the "moment seekers."

Happy New Year Y'all