2011...ready to go

Last year I set a few New Year's resolutions (a phrase I don't particularly like, so allow me to say I set some intentions for the year.) 

Here's how that went:

- join Facebook (yup)
-find out why asparagus makes pee smell (yup)
-run a marathon (yup)
-be able to do 5 unassisted pullups (nope- still at 2 1/2)
-take a real vacation (had a long summer vacation at camp but have a real, plane-flying trip to Disney in just 2 1/2 weeks)
-obtain a Kitchenaide mixer (yes- thank you Martha)
-learn to make brioche (jury is out on this one- I made it but it was only marginally good)
-learn the balance of sanity, joy, fun and rest (did I think I would get this in one 365 day span?)

My intention for this year can be summed up in my previous post regarding my children.  I want to see them for who they are, appreciate them for where they are, enhance their being and living and expressing by keeping my own agendas separate (or maybe putting them in storage and in a year's time forgetting why I needed them?  One can hope.) I want to relax and enjoy them more, let Ella put make-up on my face.

We have big changes as a family.  Sandi has been accepted to graduate school at The University of New England to become  a nurse anesthetist.  She starts in September and will be traveling to Portland (2 hours away) for classes Tues, Wed, Thurs.  This means she will be gone overnight 2-3 nights per week which sometimes doesn't seem like a big deal and other times seems like we just signed ourselves up for a spot at the funny farm.

So I have decided to do the only logical thing I can think of...I've decided to run the Sugarloaf Marathon in May and, hopefully, the Mount Desert Island Marathon in October.  And Sandi and I are planning to bike the Trek Across Maine (a 3 day 180 mile bike ride for the Lung Association) in June.  That is my equation to counteract stress with exercise.  It is the only math I really understand.

Happy New Year!