New Year Resolutions

In my first post of 2019, I listed my resolutions for the new year & added a brief comment about each one. It's a little early for an update, but I'd like to add some context to some of my resolutions

> Resolved not to read any partisan diatribes re: the 2020 elections. This will be a tough one to accomplish. I didn't say that I would NOT read ANY partisan diatribes, just those having to do with the 2020 elections. This morning I was reading through a column by Ben Shapiro & made it to the last paragraph before realizing that he was writing about Mitt Romney & whether he was positioning himself for the next presidential primaries. I stopped reading immediately . . . which was a largely symbolic reaction since I was within a paragraph of finishing the article. This resolution will required more focus & commitment.

> Resolved to add to our list of National Park visits & cross something off our bucket list. Here are the national parks that we've visited:  Arches, Badlands, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Grand Teton, Hawaii Volcanoes, Lassen Volcanic, Redwood, Voyageurs, Wind Cave, Yellowstone. God-willing, we will add Theodore Roosevelt & Glacier to our list in 2019. We've already booked our lodging for a trip in September. I'm going to count Wind Cave, since we spent time in that national park w/o actually touring the cave. It's my list, so I've decided that it qualifies. Also, my family spent time in Rocky Mt National Park in 1971. Lois hasn't been there, so I am choosing not to count it. Glacier & Teddy Roosevelt are also on our bucket list, so we will be killing two birds (partridges in a pear tree) with one stone.

> Help put out all our Christmas decorations in 2019. Our kids & grandkids have helped with this chore when they spend Thanksgiving break with us. This year we only managed to set up our Christmas tree & 2 nativity sets. Lois says that since she will be retired, WE will have time to set up & out our plethora of decorations BEFORE our visitors join us for Thanksgiving.

> Work out at least 3X per week. I'm already off to a slow start. I'm not going to make it this week. My back has been bothering me a lot, which may be a flimsy excuse, but I skipped opportunities to do cardiac maintenance yesterday & today. Maybe I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

> Here's a new resolution. To write a devotion book for the 2019 Orphan Grain Train Convention (which is in SEP). I write weekly devotions for our online "Headliner" newsletter. I put together a devotion book for the last convention. I've been thinking about this for some time & received a green light to put another book into motion. Now I need inspiration re:  a theme. Suggestions?

> Here's another new resolution. To receive a DNA report from Ancestry.com. I've been wanting to do this for some time. I sent off my DNA sample on 12/31. I know that I have German ancestry on both sides of the family. My maternal grandmother once told me that her side of the family also included Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, & possible Jewish. I'm anxious to get the results. 

          Some Melancholia

We took down our Christmas tree & packed up the nativity sets & ornaments on 1/1. This always leaves me feeling a little disconsolate. I don't count it, however, as part of my clinical depression. It's just that we put so much effort into the Christmas celebration . . . & then it abruptly comes to an end. The house just seems a little bit barren after we take down & put everything away. Can anyone else relate?