My 23 for 23

I like making lists. I do like crossing off things but not as much as I like making them. The reason mostly has to do with my full brain and my constant thinking. I often need to writing out things to make more of a visual memory. The action of writing clears the specifics and tells my brain THIS IS IMPORTANT.

So today, the newest day of the newest year to us, I’m writing out a list of 23 things I’d like to do this year. I’m not much for the word “Resolution.” There is a weight to it that I don’t care for, but a simple list of things I’d like to accomplish sounds like a lot more fun to me.

I also plan small. Big goals are accomplished by little steps. Like the phrase “How do you eat an elephant? (metaphorically speaking, because ewe, I’d never EAT an elephant) The answer is one bite at a time. That’s this year for me, the small goals that lead to bigger ones.

My List of 23 in No Particular Order

Cut my socks by half. I have a sock problem that grows every year and I can’t keep up with the matching, so let’s get rid of all the socks that don’t match.
Take more stairs.
Teach my kids the game Spades.
Try and keep the table cleared of stuff. If I keep it cleared, the rest of the house looks pretty good.
Write Sunday Poetry (which you can find on Medium)
Color more.
Get back to playing the piano because playing makes you happy.
Call my mother more. This should be on my list every year, but after my bff’s mother died, the reality hit me that I don’t have that much time with my parents. I need to take advance of this.
Daily writing. People might be surprised by this but I don’t write daily and I have so many projects that I want to finish, writing daily will help me do that.
Find times to hold my husband’s hand.
Take a nice walk around the block every once in a while.
Eat more veggies and less sugar. This is kinda a no brainer and is always on my list. Maybe it should be eat more veggies I like. That also is a problem since I love them with lots of butter. So really, this should be find something other than butter to have my veggies with.
Bring a lunch to work.
Teach my kids to drive (and NOT freak out at what they are doing).
Tip the baristas when there isn’t a way on the app. In fact, even when there is an app. I just want to tip more, okay?
Make my bed every day.
Hug more, especially my kids.
Keep the laundry room clear. There is usually a nucleus to my laundry problem and mine is the state of my laundry room. If the laundry room is cleared and organized, everything else in the entire home falls into order. I spent all morning yesterday clearing up the stray baskets and putting it back in order. Living with teens and working full time is difficult if you want to have a good flowing household circulation. This is my best idea on how to tackle it, at least for this year.
Lower my carbon footprint – take the train more, use more reusable things.
Spend time building with Legos. (And I don’t care what Lego says, the plural of Lego is Legos. It is not a school of Lego like Fish, it’s individual building blocks. They are LEGOS, get over it already. Accept what we have been saying for years!)
Finish the quilts I started for my children.
Retro game more. Especially now that I know you can download Revolt that I LOVED on the Sega Dreamcast.
Do something I have always wanted to do that has intimidated me. Last year that was taking a Ballet class. I loved it. It’s fueled my desire to do more intimidating things. So I think this is the year I work on screenplays and take a Screenwriting class. Maybe I can get some of these book ideas into screenplays. That would be amazing.

As I look out at the falling snow, I’m already thankful for it and for this new year. It is already such a contrast from 2022, and I don’t think it will feel like it as well. This year is a new cycle for me, where I explore more about the self I left when I discovered writing. I lost parts of me that I miss and I want to find them again. Let this be the year where I sew back those lost pieces.

May your 23 by a collection year as well. Find your lost pieces. Find joy. Do small things to make great things happen. Be your 23!