“I confess that I am a serial resolver.”

My word for 2020 is: Create.

I was flummoxed this year by what word might encapsulate my hopes and dreams for the coming year. My son, Tommy, came to the rescue as we talked over the Christmas holiday. I had made all of the prior decisions in private, not seeking input or opinion, and I wasn’t actually looking for help, I was thinking out loud in his presence. He has a quiet wisdom that makes it easy to let the words roll out unencumbered. He listened. We may even have been puzzling at the time, not as in mulling, but in actually putting little pieces together in a way that would result in a complete picture. Just like I was trying to do - fit disparate goals together into one nice complete directive.

My word and my resolutions are different. The word acts as a North star by which I navigate the many paths of my life and helps me prioritize. The resolutions are tactical and measurable. I confess to be a serial resolver. I love resolving and I look for any and all opportunities to resolve or re-resolve. It can be the first of a week, or a month, or the beginning of a season, or a birthday or anniversary, no matter, it becomes an opportunity to try and try again. This makes me happy and also hopeful, always a second chance to redeem my often-wayward self.

This year, the beginning of a year and a decade, seemed a particularly auspicious threshold. I wanted to mark it with a powerful and meaningful word. The day after the successful puzzle completion, Tommy greeted my, “Good morning” with, “Create.” He continued to tell me how it related to everything I spoke about the day before, creating my book, creating good health, creating a strong body, creating a deeper relationship with family and friends. It was done. The word was chosen.

I won’t bore you with the resolutions, they are what they have always been and are so redundant that they border on the ridiculous. But this year, this time, it will be different. You’ll see. Or you won’t. I’ll re-resolve on February 1st whatever seems to have slipped between the cracks. And so, it goes.