Resolution No. Four: Be Kinder Than Necessary

I saved the most important one for last. Plato said, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." I resolve to be as kind, patient, and generous as I possibly can to everyone I encounter, even when they are not behaving as though they particularly deserve it. In fact, especially then. We don't always know what is going on in other people's lives or what troubles they may be dealing with, and we don't always know when a kind word or deed might make a real difference in someone's life. I will do my best to be kind to everyone, no matter who they are, how well I know them, or where I encounter them.

Resolution No. Three: Take Better Care of Myself

You know, I really enjoy cooking, but I rarely do so these days because I'm usually dining alone and it just seems like too much trouble to make a real meal for one. Consequently, I grab whatever is convenient, which usually means it has little nutritional value. For example, on Friday I ate movie theater popcorn and Milk Duds, and then later a PB&J sandwich. That was it for the entire day. Today I had some pomegranate Greek yogurt and then later two scrambled eggs with cheese on toast and a thin slice of Miles of Chocolate. A bit better than Friday, but still. This is not an acceptable way to eat. I resolve to pay more attention to what I'm eating and to take the extra bit of effort to make real meals for myself, with veggies and fruits and proteins and generally fresh foods. I will go to Central Market and Whole Foods more often and get things I will actually eat that are good for me.

I also resolve to get back to riding my stationary bike regularly. I haven't ridden it in the past few months because I've been having so many bad RA flare-ups this year, but I really need to get back on it as often as I possibly can.

I also resolve to get at least seven hours of sleep per night, preferably eight.

It's important for all of us to take good care of ourselves, but even more important for those of us who are dealing with chronic illnesses. Of course, the RA is a handy excuse to be lazy, not eat right, and not exercise, but it is really important for me to make the extra effort to be as healthy as I can be.

Resolution No. Two: Seriously, Get Rid of the Clutter

As I have mentioned previously on this blog, I am a world-champion pack rat. Consequently, my house is absolutely crammed full of crap that I don't need, don't use, and don't even particularly want.

I've been making some progress on this over the past few months, so my resolution for the new year is to continue working on it in two ways: first, get rid of the clutter I already have. If I'm not using something, I will throw it out, give it away, or sell it in a yard sale. I will also organize the stuff I do use and want to keep. I resolve to dedicate at least two hours each week to de-cluttering and organizing my house. Second, stop buying things that I don't need and won't use. I resolve to really think about each new purchase I make next year. Will I really use it, or will it just sit around taking up space and collecting dust? If it's going to be the latter, then it needs to stay in the store no matter how pretty it is or how cool it seems at the time.

It's amazing how much energy it takes just to maintain one's possessions. I really want to be surrounded by only the things that I actually use and enjoy. A clean, uncluttered space is just so much nicer and more soothing to look at. Clutter equals stress, and who needs more of that?

New Year's Resolutions

Last year, my only resolution was to read more books than I'd read the year before. I set a goal of twelve books for the year, and I managed to surpass it by one. Yay! Also, two of the books I read were in the 1,000-page range. Here's the list of what I read this past year:

1. Bel-Ami (Guy de Maupassant)
2. To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
3. Life and Fate (Vasily Grossman)
4. Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
5. A Woman in Charge (Carl Bernstein)
6. Eugene Onegin (Alexander Pushkin)
7. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
8. Barchester Towers (Anthony Trollope)
9. The Eternal Husband and Other Stories (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
10. Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)
11. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (David Sedaris)
12. Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail (Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi)
13. Collected Sonnets of Edna St. Vincent Millay

Last night I started reading Flannery O'Connor: The Complete Stories. That one will go on next year's list, though, since I won't finish it before the new year begins.

Now for my 2009 resolutions. Actually, I think I will make each one a separate post. Resolution number one is to once again read at least twelve books. Next on the list after I finish the Flannery O'Connor stories is David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again.

Merry Christmas!

Here is Achilles with his new Santa Puppy toy, sent to him by his girlfriend Sheba. We wish you a merry Christmas (or, you know, a merry Thursday for those who don't celebrate Christmas)!

Baby Zach Update

I am becoming hopeful that Baby Zach's prognosis may less bleak than previously feared. When he was diagnosed with autism back in June, he had just turned two. His doctors said at the time that it was good that he was diagnosed so early because three is the critical age for autism patients. That meant he had a year to make some progress and possibly improve his long-term prognosis. As far as I can tell, he is doing just that. His parents have him seeing various experts and undergoing various therapies, and it seems to be really helping him.

These past couple of months, he has seemed much more comfortable at large family gatherings. He used to become very upset around large groups of people, but at the past three family gatherings he has marched right into the crowd and just done his own thing and he hasn't seemed bothered at all by the commotion around him. He still pretty much keeps to himself, playing quietly with a toy in the corner or climbing on any available piece of furniture or just wandering from room to room, but he no longer cries inconsolably when faced with a big group of people.

We had a family dinner this evening, and I believe he is doing better than ever. He did have one episode where he became very upset after everyone sang happy birthday to his younger brother, who turns a year old tomorrow. Zach gets very freaked out by people singing and clapping, so it sent him into a horrible crying fit; however, he was fine after his dad removed him from the room for a few minutes to calm him down.

Later in the evening, not once but twice, he actually sidled up to me silently (he still does not speak at all), grabbed my hand, and then just stood next to me quietly with his little hand in mine. I would like to believe this is some major progress for him as, aside from his parents and brothers, he usually doesn't acknowledge anyone else's presence. I'm not an autism expert by any means, but I am very optimistic that Zach is going to end up doing much better than his initial diagnosis indicated.

Jewel - O Holy Night

Stupid shoulder

I've been having another RA flare-up this past week. It's not as severe as many have been, but the problem with this one is that I'm not getting any sleep because my shoulder hurts so much. No matter what position I try to lie in -- on my back, on one side or the other, curled up, stretched out -- it doesn't matter. My shoulder starts to throb within seconds after switching positions, and it gets increasingly worse until I try switching again. The only thing I haven't tried is lying on my stomach, because I've never been able to sleep that way anyway.

Even taking a pain pill and an Ambien before bed and slathering my shoulder with my joint and muscle pain relief cream does no good. At best, I may doze off for half an hour at a time before the pain wakes me up again. I even dread going to bed. Hopefully this flare-up will end soon. This is miserable.

Special Request

In keeping with the thankfulness theme, I thought I'd pass on a post from another blog that contains a special birthday request from the blogger. His birthday is December 13th and he would like people to perform a random act of kindness to mark the occasion. If you decide to participate, make sure you leave him a comment to let him know what you did to brighten someone's day.