new resolve

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions...I decided to go ahead and change everything at once.

I started a new exercise regimen called "Bigger Butt, Smaller Waist" which involves elevated aerobic activity at least four times a week, with added dietary adjustments like more nuts and berries and lettuce.

I'm turning my recently acquired dog into an agility course contender and the Emily-Post-equivalent-for-dogs star pupil.

I'm starting my registered therapeutic riding instructor certification course.

I am joining a writer's critique group and re-writing my book so that someone will actually want to publish it.

I am writing short screenplays for Little Gen's new film production company, with titles like "The Dead Slippers" and "Slice of Life: A Memoir."

I'm visiting schools as an inspirational speaker, helping kids understand and accept disability.

And in my spare time, I'm going to volunteer with Franciscan monks and teach creative writing to juvenile delinquents.

Well, that's the plan. So far this week, I've managed one aquatic exercise class and several meals of trail mix. And when I think about the list, I am immediately struck down with exhaustion and want to go back to bed.

Anybody else like to over-do the self improvement? For a while I argued that I was simply too talented to choose just one path for my life. Paralyzed by my own potential or clinically indecisive...you decide.

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I took Keeper on an early walk by the river. A passing woman reached out to say hello and Keeper returned the favor by lunging at her, hair bristled, and barking. As I pulled the truck out of the trailhead parking lot, I noticed a homeless woman standing on the bridge. At her feet sat a cat, a dog, and two ducks that she was feeding. Great, I thought, a homeless lady has achieved animal kingdom utopia, and I can't even get my dog to stop scaring people.

So I may cross some things off the list, at least for this year. "Less is more," Robert Browning said.

But I'm not kidding about the Franciscan monks.

OneArmGirl