Why Can't I Ever Resist the Urge to Make New Year's Resolutuions?

Like I will write a poem a day for the entire year.

Like a poem a day and at least 20 minutes of exercise.

Like a poem a day, a three-mile run, and visiting an art museum once a week with notebook in hand for ekphrasis drafting.

While I am doing all this, I will also be

(a) eating local even more than last year;

(b) reading for pleasure (a lovely novel by Marilyn Robinson or Lorrie Moore) instead of checking Facebook and email;

(c) taking better care of my hair, skin, and nails;

(d) spending more downtime with my children;

(e) writing poem ideas down instead of thinking I'll remember them in the morning (Thanks, Diane Lockward, for your reminder on Blogalicious this week);

(f) eating more legumes and high-calcium greens (collard and mustard greens);

(g) spending more time with my friends;

(h) blogging a little bit more often (and making sure to be, always, always, Educational, Entertaining, and Empowering--tee hee);

(i) writing a pantoum (for god's sake!);

[(j) ust what is it about me and the alphabet these days?]

(k) reading more biographies and letters of poets;

(l) attending more readings;

(m) buying more poetry books and subscribing to more lit mags;

(n) learning to play tennis, and, at the track, sprinting;

(o) riding my bike along the Lake every Bicycle Sunday;

(p) nordic skiing and less attention to submitting (really);

(q) laughing and sexing it up;

(r) decluttering and praying;

(s) writing more reviews of poetry books;

(t) trying to write essays;

(u) putting together a poetry class for Richard Hugo house;

(v) volunteering at a soup kitchen;

(w) spending less time online;

(x) taking better care of my back molars;

(y) spending more time birdwatching;

(z) writing more letters by hand.

(If I only do one thing on my list, I will consider myself successful. The one thing I want to do? Write poetry and get physical exercise most days this year.)

Happy resolutioning everyone (or happy un-resolutioning, as the case may be). [I know: I am ridiculous, but this is not a joke. These are really the things I want to accomplish this year. I am putting this out into the world not because I want to feel like a failure when January 5 rolls around, but because I want to refer back to this list throughout the year . . . when I realize that I have barely had time to shower or brush my teeth because all I do is tend to my kids and my students.]