Inspired by-

My college roommate, Katy, loves animals.  Because we couldn’t have a dog in the one bedroom apartment that we shared, we did, over the course of the three years we lived together, have two birds, a tarantula, and two snakes, one who escaped and was never seen again.  The snake who hung around, and I can’t remember his or her name, or if he or she had a name, or if it was a male or female snake, ate either live or frozen mice.  If his meal was a live mouse, Katy’s then boyfriend/now husband Chris and I would cower a few feet away in terror while the snake attacked and ate his (her?) prey, and Katy would watch with the awe of nature that must be necessary for biomedical science majors.  Inspired by this cartoon, which I cut out of the paper this morning:

one of my resolutions is to send one letter or note per week, in the actual mail.  I’m going to write the person’s name on the calendar each week to hold myself accountable.  The resolution is also inspired by my online shopping sprees (sprees, plural) on the most dangerous shopping website- not Amazon, not Ebay, not Etsy, but usps.com.  Because Forever stamps never expire!  And they have 20th century poets and Pixar stamps instead of the Liberty Bell!  And $x later, we have a million books of stamps.

There is a sign hanging on the wall in the youth room at our church and I find myself staring at it during Sunday school during the Sundays when I’m not the lead teacher.  It reads, “Attitude is Everything, Choose a Good One.”  Inspired by that sign, and in an attempt to stop an early, slow slide into curmudgeoness, I’m resolving to Have a Good Attitude in 2013.

This morning, I picked up a children’s book off the floor, then walked three feet and picked up the book jacket and put it back on the book.  I’ve only done that 300 times, so I walked right to the tape drawer and taped the book jacket together, library style.  Inspired by having to repair book and jacket so many times before taping it on, a resolution this year is to Do Things Right Away. 

More and more in conversations with my husband, mom, or sister, where I can speak most candidly, I found myself saying things like, “I don’t mean that to be as bitchy as it sounds.”  I don’t think what is coming out of my mouth reflects the person I am inside.  I think kind things, so I need to not say things out loud that make me sound like a jerk.  Inspired by the phrase, “I don’t mean that to be as bitchy as it sounds”, I’m resolving to Say Only Nice, Positive Things this year and keep my mouth shut on catty, gossipy, or unproductive comments.  That one is also inspired by, and hopefully encouraged by, my friend Tiffany, who somehow doesn’t say mean things.

I’m also picking a theme word for the year.  It’s going to be a secret, just for me, because there should be some mystery in life.  But here’s a hint:  The very first year we went to the book sale, I bought a library discard dictionary.  When I got home, I thought about what word I wanted to look up first, and when I looked up it, the definition was underlined.  That’s my word.