in the new year.

We’re already in it. We ended the year at home, eating this and watching this. We started the new year at the theater (obviously), followed by an endless stream of food at my parents' house. I meant to write yesterday and the day before (and the day before, etc.). I was planning to write a lot to round up the year. I wanted to bring home some big ideas, but it just didn’t happen. I guess I could waste time regretting it, but it seems better to sit here in the bright cold sunshine on my couch and think about this new year with hope, ambition, and mindfulness.

My philosophy on resolutions has never been about perfection, but more about focus. Priorities change through our lives and I value the chance to reassess what I am working on or towards.

Over the last two years, I resolved to read more. I aimed for 24 books each year, but fell a bit shy of the goal. But I still feel good about that focus - it was what I needed. I’ve gotten back in the habit of reading each night (even finally finishing this!). Last year, I also resolved to temporarily quit Facebook, just to see how it felt. That’s probably on the list of the 10 best things I did in 2015. I'm not going back.

This year, I have two goals, both things I’ve been thinking about and starting to work towards this last month. First, I’m resolved to sweat every day. I know it’s a little cliche, but I don’t mean that I’m trying to lose weight or go on a diet or anything like that. Mostly it’s for my brain. This has been a rough year for my brain. Working up a sweat makes my brain so much healthier and happier. It cuts through stress, anxiety, depression. Before we left DC, at the very least I was riding my bike to work most days. When we moved to Massachusetts this summer (and I started working from home), I really let the habit slip and I suffered for it. So for the last month, I’ve run nearly every day, some days a longer distance, some days barely more than a few minutes. I’m not measuring the success by how far or how fast, but by whether I worked up a sweat. It’s good and it’s my 2016 plan for a healthier brain.

And the second resolution is to not buy any new clothes in 2016. For years I’ve been working towards buying more sustainable clothing, but the reality is that I/we just don’t make the kind of money I’d need to buy from clothing companies that I want to support. Maybe someday, but in the meantime, this feels like a step in the right direction. Obvious exceptions will made for new underpants.

That’s what’s up here. We're on our way. Happy new year, my friends!