2018...nearly here!

Ah, a new year is almost here. Hello 2018!

Quotes relating to New Year’s Resolutions offer an abundance of deep and meaningful messages relating to enriching a ‘new beginning’ and so forth. There are also references to casting off bad habits as well as many generally quite wonderful (?) words to inspire.
As for me, I have decided to be a little practical.
Here are My New Year’s Resolutions: (Try not to doze off with boredom as you read through them. Realistic they may be but inspiring they are not).
Here we go…
I resolve:

1. To use public transport more often.
2. To smile at the check-out person (there are very few left!)
3. To snooze in the afternoon whenever I feel like doing so.
4. To read at least one book a week.
5. To finish writing my memoir.
6. T o visit the beach more often.
7. To repaint all the skirting boards in our house.  AND…
8. To endeavour to keep these resolutions.
9. 
   

Why does anyone do this? Make New Year’s Resolutions, that is. I have never before bothered to make any such promises to myself. Certainly I have never written any down.
It will be interesting to see if I manage to achieve anything on this meagre list.

You’ll notice that I haven’t included ‘climb Mount Everest’ or ‘learn to fly a plane’ or ‘try skateboard riding’. Nor have I mentioned ‘learn to not be afraid of spiders’ or ‘tidy my desk’. No use listing the impossible.

Minor as it may seem, my aim ‘to use public transport more often’ is possibly my most genuine and serious resolution. Petrol is expensive. Driving on our roads is  scary and you can’t read a book when driving (see No 4). Our city has buses, trams and trains that can safely deliver travellers anywhere, so I plan to use them.

Resolution No 5 is ‘to finish writing my memoir’. This is certainly the most ambitious AND, unfortunately, the same aim I had for 2017 - and failed. So, perhaps second-time-lucky – (although luck has little to do with it) but I’m a year older and a year lazier. (See No 3) so it may be hard.

Now…I had thought of aiming to stop using cash when shopping, but (see No 2) I prefer to deal (and chat) with a human being.

As for visiting the beach more often – well I had to include something pleasant to counteract the awful aim of (No 7) painting the skirting boards. Such a horrible job but the need of a coat of paint on them is starting to annoy me. (Of course, I could simply avoid looking down at skirting boards when I clean the floor. Or maybe stop cleaning the floor?). But visiting the beach more often is do-able.

I will write these eight simple aims for 2018 somewhere noticeable and see how I go.

Yes, I know it doesn’t seem much to do, with a whole year in which to fit it all, but when I’m not achieving my resolutions I will be otherwise simply living…and living simply (Ooops, there’s another resolution I should have added).  

There may even be a small holiday in the year somewhere…so, there’s and extra New Year’s resolution: to have a holiday.
​
Anyway, list done.
Happy New Year, everyone!