I did it! Sort of.

I don’t really set New Year’s resolutions.  Considering that the New Year is often mired in a cocktail haze, setting goals during that time may make for some interesting, yet unattainable aspirations. Why be saddled throughout the year with such slightly off-balanced momentary insights.  I, instead, tend to set end of the year resolutions.  Psychologically, it gives me an extra push to end on a high note.  After writing 17 grants this past year, I was ready to wind down in the month of December. Of course, I still submitted two grants in December. Here’s hoping some funding floods in for all these efforts.  By mid-December I was exhausted with bitten-down nails and crossed-eyed vision.  I purposefully decided to not go on a vacation trip.

Staycations are all the rage these days. And, as a rager, I staycated. Is that even a word? Although, I happily will note I have yet to take a selfie during my staycation. Of course, a picture of me in my pajamas sipping my 100th cup of coffee looking longingly at my nicely stocked home bar, does not make for an interesting selfie. Then again, what selfie is actually interesting? Most people seem to be obsessed with showing off their bodies in front of a mirror. Now, if you were to take a selfie in space, that would be interesting.

Anyway, while I was not sitting around taking selfies, I set up some end of the year goals that I felt were small and attainable and would give me a mental lift.  As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s eve, I did a quick count and gave myself a high-five. I had done it! I had achieved my end-of-the year’s resolutions. Mostly. Somewhat.

First off, I wanted to stay home and hang with my son and learn as much as I could from him.  In the day-today hustle and bustle of work, business travel, exercise, chores and such, I don’t get to hear my son’s stories as much as I would like. These past few weeks, I learned a ton about minecraft, sonic and swap force. I don’t know what they are, but I did learn for sure that TNT is dynamite.  Here were some other pearls of wisdom attained during my staycation:

“Stuff dries if you wait for a few minutes
Why take tissues in the backpack, if the classroom has its own tissue box
Santa is a big dude, so he can have 4 or 5 cookies
Santa can’t die because he’s Santa and Santa cant die. Plus he is about 100 years old.  Which by the way if you add 100 plus 100 you get 200.
Santa is guided by the star on top of the tree
Girls, apparently, exercise more than boys
Zombies DO wear shoes”

[side note: how they tie their shoelaces is still a mystery]

Second, I was motivated to create the outline and storyboard of two potential books I want to write.  I could have said I would get started on the books, but just outlining and contemplating them, gave me a mental boost.   I scanned my past blogs herein and took note of the overall story of my life and my varied interests. Blogging is such a great way to learning about myself. I took time to read a grand portion of the blogs of both my followers and frequent commentators because I really wanted to get insight as to what is part of the collective writing conscious. Overall, there is a hunger for social justice, compassion and understanding of both the world and of oneself that is expressed freely throughout the blogosphere.  There is a hunger to leave a mark in the world. We all want to feel like we count and matter even though we are being inundated with countless news items that often insinuate that we do not.  Going forward, I am excited to tinker further with my book ideas and will slowly work towards getting those down onto paper.

Third, I started sorting through all my electronic photos. So many people just happily snap 20 pictures a minute and then upload them onto the computer where they stay barely looked upon.  I found some true gems that I had forgotten about. It used to be we would take out the old photo albums and look through the 50 or so therein and reminisce of days of yore. Nowadays, we don’t have time to reprocess those moments even when they are stored on our cell phones that we take with us everywhere-even to the bathroom. It was nice to just sit and reminisce and think about what new events I would engage in and what new places I would go to this coming year.

Fourth, I had missed out on November’s national writing month extravaganza (NaNoWriMo) due to having to write grants for my money. Thus, I set my own goal that everyday of my three week staycation I would write a blog post. Mission Accomplished! Thank you to those of you that kept up with my heavily increased writing pace. Some were wacky. Some were poignant. All the posts just bleed out from my fingertips; with my mind ready to release its pent up creative thoughts.  I do feel ready to go back to work and tackle new work projects with a creative zeal.

Fifth, I caught up on a bunch of chores that had just been accumulating over time. Not the most exciting thing to do over a staycation but it was nice to feel that order was being restored. I had a new clean baseline from which to work. I redid the home office so that I could more productively work from home. Yah!?

Lastly, speaking of which, this is where I kind of didn’t hold true to my end-of-the year staycation resolution.  I had promised myself I would not do business work. Well, trying to attain that goal didn’t go too well. I worked. I admit it. I did not fully disconnect. But, the flip side, is that I was needed and missed. Surely, that helps my ego. I prefer to remain upbeat about that slight “failure.”

Overall, my staycation provided me with a way to get away from the many unnecessary distractions that often impede the simple act of just enjoying a good life.  I know the word “staycation” is a bit overused and may need to be retired. Oh the irony. However, it does capture quite well how staying put in one place can stop the world from spinning about you.

The end of the year has come and gone. I feel fairly accomplished during my staycation rejuvenating and feeding my creative hunger. Let’s see what end-of-the year resolutions I can come up with next December. Till then, let’s rock and roll and enjoy some actual vacations.