This is the strangest New Year's Eve I can remember. Perhaps because 2013 was a little bizarre? Don't underestimate the effects of major surgery...

I've always had a plan, a list, a program, resolutions, inspirational words or phrases. This year... nothin'. I've mulled over words like liberty and pithy phrases like "forward, ho." (That didn't go very far. My boys would laugh me out of the house.)

Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt: Have you made any New Year's resolutions, Chuck?
Charlie Brown: Yes. You know how I always dread the whole year? Well, this time I'm only going to dread one day at a time.

1. Go to the dentist. (We've had insurance for almost two years now and I still haven't worked up the gumption to get to the dentist's office.)
2. Finish two novels. (Honestly, finishing two novels is much less terrifying than going to the dentist for a cleaning and a checkup.)
3. Focus physically on increasing stamina and strength instead of yielding to depression and self-induced misery whenever I get on a scale or look in the mirror. (Hey, after my surgery, I couldn't even sit up in bed without assistance... things have improved!)
4. Drink WATER. This has been on my list every year for at least a decade. Seriously. 
5. Stop worrying about my kids. For me, this is HUGE. Even though God keeps reminding me that He loves them even more than I do, and that it's not my job to worry and fret, it's my job to love, I've not done very well with letting my offspring leave the nest. Oldest son (the one who always pushes the limits) is headed to over-the-road truck driving school in a few days. For whatever reason, this is almost more terrifying than the sword-swallowing, fire-eating sideshow school he attended last year. Illogical? Yes. Welcome to mommyhood. Illogical is the name of the game.
6. Learn to quilt. Not fancy quilts, just using up the six ginormous boxes of scrap fabric that were recently relocated to my room. 
7. Scan and save my old family photos. I have two antique trunks and a Rubbermaid tub full of family photos dating back to the early 1900s. The wildfire near our house last summer was a stark reminder that those photos are vulnerable in their current state. Scanning, saving, and sorting them will be an ongoing project. Because I'd rather grab my grandbabies, dog, chickens, and a flash drive in case of evacuation than fret over three huge containers of old pictures.