I never make New Year's Resolutions. I am a goal setter and I work methodically through lists of things I'd like to accomplish on a daily basis... it keeps me sane and somewhat organised (my mother might snicker at that...) My lists and goals can be anything from tasks as mundane as "brush teeth, feed cats, make bed" to far more complex and long term goal like "pay off debt, meet Bon Jovi, go to Australia". Part of what helps me actually accomplish a lot of what I set out to do is that I tend to think of my lists as challenges to myself... if I can do everything on the list, I feel good about myself; I've risen to the challenge.
I'm sure most of you have seen blogs where the authors challenge themselves to a year-long journey in whatever area of life may interest them. There are blogs that post daily recipes, photos, movie trivia, scripture studies... bloggers who give themselves daily challenges like creating a new outfit, cooking a specific meal, budgeting their entire day's worth of meals, etc. I've always loved the concept of this, but never could come up with an idea of my own that I actually thought I stood half a chance of following through on.
In 2010, I got married. Along with all the ups and downs of preparing for marriage, planning and executing a wedding, and settling into the life of a newlywed, I have found myself reflecting a lot on who I am, where I come from, and the people who have shaped the person I've become. I come from a family of "corresponders" (on my mother's side). My grandmother loved sending and receiving mail, and all five of her daughters inherited her amazing ability to keep in regular touch with literally hundreds of friends and family over the years. With the advent of email and instant messenger, facebook and texting, mail has become less frequent for most. My family still regularly sends and receives mail, but in the past years my own ability to stay in touch with the people I care about (particularly those who don't live in my immediate geographic area) has suffered due to crazy schedules, changing priorities, smaller budgets, and, let's face it, laziness.
Tonight I was struck with inspiration. In an effort to improve my own relationships, and to share in a more personal way with those I care about, I am embarking on a journey of my own, to be documented in this blog. I am going to attempt to send one letter or postcard (snail mail, people... kickin' it old school!) to someone I know. The purpose of this blog will be to give me a space to reflect on the people in my life, as well as the experience as a whole. I hope those of you who stumble across this blog will appreciate it, and perhaps draw inspiration from it yourselves to find your own ways of reaching out to the important people in your lives.
To the critics (there are always critics): this is my journey, so I really don't care if you don't get it, if you think it's lame, or if you have no interest in my life and relationships. To you I say, find another blog to follow.
Since I am clearly already behind the ball a little, I'm going to try and catch up within the next few days sending some extra mail out in order to get current. Not sure if this will result in daily posts, or weekly summaries, or what exactly, it may change as the year progresses, but we shall see.
Funny how you struck upon something that I have been thinking alot about. I think it's because Natalee loves to send and receive mail. Plus with the advent of technology receiving snail mail just seems more special. The time was taken to actually use different muscles in our hands and brains to write the note, the lick the stamp - well no licking now a days guess I am dating myself, there. LOL but you know what I mean. Good luck on your challenge.
ReplyDelete