Thursday, February 01, 2007

A Fresh Start

We moved every few years when I was growing a up. My dad would get transferred to a new assignment, so we would pack up and head off to wherever the next project was taking us. It was fun, for the most part, and I remember thinking as a kid that these moves were also chances for me to start over. New house, new school, new friends.... I could change anything I wanted about myself - be different, be better - and nobody in our new town would know what I had been like at the last place.

I don't recall ever really making any dramatic alterations to the fabric of my life, but it was fun to imagine and who knows, maybe in some way my little "new home resolutions" did have some subtle effect. Anyway, my wife and I frequently find ourselves thinking about our upcoming move to Texas and, just as in my childhood days, we wonder at the possibilities of this fresh start. We can be different, be better....

Our vision?

Well, just for starters, we're going to be better organized around the house. When we unpack our belongings, everything is going to have its place. No more piling things up in the closet; no more shunting stuff off to the guest room [What happens when we actually have guests?]; no more turning the garage into daddy's private storage locker.

Then there are all those health related resolutions. When we move into the new house, we're only going to stock the cupboards and pantry with healthy foods. We're going to pay more attention to what we feed our kids (and ourselves); increase the fruits and veggies, cut out the processed and prepared foods and cook our own meals from scratch. [I was actually a vegan for about 7 years before we got married, and I keep threatening to inflict my long dormant vegetarian cooking skills on my wife and kids.] We're going to exercise more and make sure the kids stay physically active. There are no school buses in our new community, so we (parents and kids) plan to walk or ride our bikes to school everyday [of course, we'll have to actually get some bikes for that to work]. We are going to go for regular hikes and walks.

My wife and I are going to get more sleep. We're going to really stick to our budget. I'm thinking about trying to devote more time to prayer, meditation and personal development each day.

Big plans! Once we move to Austin, our lives will be like Mary Poppins - practically perfect in every way! Er, yeah. Well, maybe not perfect. But we are going to try to use the move as an extra incentive to improve ourselves.

How about you, dear reader, if you had the chance to make a fresh start of things, what would you do? Or perhaps you made a few New Year's resolutions this year - how are they working out? I'll keep you posted on mine.

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