Tonight's goal: sloth

Five days into 2010 and I am loving this new year. Sunday I renewed my gym membership, and Monday morning I hit the treadmill. My cardiovascular stamina is non-existent, but that's to be expected after two years of the sitting-on-my-ass exercise routine. Two miles yesterday morning, two more today. Mentally, I fell back into the gym like not a day had passed, which was something I had worried about. I mean, a lot changes in your brain in two years. What if I didn't like it anymore? Turns out I still adore it, and realized again just how much I had missed it. My gym did get new treadmills, though, which have been a pain to figure out. First, they have fancy schmancy touch screens that you actually have to read just to turn the damn thing on and get moving. Second, they no longer have little fans on either side of the display, which doesn't sound like much but which feels good when one is dripping in sweat. Minor hindrances in my quest to reclaim my body.

Tonight I have not one single thing I must do. It's the first night like this since we finished school. I mean, I could do some laundry. But I probably won't. I could start cleaning out the storage room in the basement. Nah. I think I'll sit on the couch and finish reading a really good book while watching a bowl game on TV. Sweet. Oh, and I'll go to bed early since I stayed up too late last night and getting up this morning at 5:10 to be at the gym by 5:30 was harder than it needed to be.

I was talking to my friend Stef the other day, and we decided that we're going to have a really great year. Isn't making that decision half the battle? Isn't that part of the whole determining-your-own-fate concept? I'm ready. Two years of grad school and losing whole parts of myself really bring what's important into focus.

I had a meeting today where someone said that, when he was growing up, the discussion around the family dinner table included answering the question, "Who did I help today?" It was not cool with Dad if the answer was, "Nothing." What a great idea. He said there were some days where he and his siblings would be scrambling to find someone to help, just to avoid a stern glare at dinner, but that the notion of continually looking beyond yourself became ingrained, a core part of who each of them are today. What a phenomenal concept.

I have lots to work on in 2010. Tons. More than I can even reveal here right now (keep your pants on...ya'all will find out in good time). I refuse to call them New Year's resolutions because that's a ridiculous notion that is always doomed to fail. And they carry the idea that they should be started on January 1. All at once. Just like that. Setting and achieving goals don't work that way.

Besides, all that sounds like a lot of work, and I really just want to sit on the couch for a night.