I’ve heard it said that writing down your intentions or your goals makes it more likely that you will actually meet them, but I despise the word “resolution.” Resolution makes me think of cliche things done at the start of a New Year that are, by this time of January, already tossed to the winds.

That new diet? Probably toast after our snowy weekend, where all some of us did was hibernate with a pot of chili, grilled cheese sandwiches, and a fine selection of Aldi brand knock off Girl Scout cookies.

How about your exercise plan? Anyone strained your “fill in body part” to the point that it’s going to take a surgical procedure to fix it before you can even begin to think about looking snatched for your June trip to PCB?

Anyone got a resolution to read the Bible in a year, plus listen to its corresponding podcast? My Bible plan is on track, but the podcast? Just thinking about catching up on all the days I’ve missed makes me want to unsubscribe. When I see it alongside the other podcasts I listen to, it’s just one more thing to feel guilty about, right along with the mostly eaten pack of fake Tagalongs I’ve tried to hide from myself in the pantry.

Resolution, for a lot of us, is a word we associate with failure. That, and a laundry list of things we know we should be doing to make us into supposedly better people.

What a waste of a word! Something that’s supposed to represent a positive form of change only turns into one more thing that makes us feel poorly of ourselves, and it’s the exact opposite of the original good plans we set out to accomplish in this bright and shiny New Year.

After failing to accomplish many, MANY past New Year’s resolutions, I’ve shifted my focus.

I much prefer to use the word “resolve.” It’s a verb, one usually associated with strong action that focuses more on attitude and process rather than the product or the outcome. It’s also a word that allows you to get up the next day and start over. 

If yesterday felt like a crapshoot, and you ate the entire bag of chips, guess what? You can resolve to start over and do better today. 

Therefore, in the year 2025, I am resolved . . .

To cook and to eat more deviled eggs. More than just on Easter, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. In fact, let’s normalize the deviled egg as an everyday taste of paradise. May it make our days brighter and give us hope for a better tomorrow.

To eat 30 fruits and/or vegetables in a week and add more protein and fiber. Many thanks to The Pause Life for the inspiration. I am convinced that I am firmly in the grips of perimenopause, so it’s time to make adjustments for more change to come. (Thank you, deviled eggs, for helping me increase my protein intake and, along with the fiber, make for some really awesome farts to rip off in the coming year).

To fish more. There is a peace watching that translucent trail vanish into the water while I wait patiently, hoping for that pull on the other end of the line. 

To spend more time with my husband because he is my ticket to fishing. He knows this already and he has also resolved to fish more. I will also eat more fish. Fish = protein.

To spend more time with my parents. Every time I go over to their house, they are usually in the midst of a project, whether painting a chicken coop, cleaning out the gutters, or picking up pesky black walnuts so they don’t stain shoes or make someone fall and break a hip. They are examples of what it is to age well and to keep moving despite a plethora of aches and pains.

I am resolved to spend more quality time with my kids. 

To do everything possible to reduce stress. 

To stop visiting the past, except to remember what life was like before cell phones and social media. 

To be more honest with myself and other people.

To complete my daily grand trifecta: write, move, pray. Mind, body, spirit.

I am resolved to live a more fulfilled life this year than I did last year, whatever heartache and hardship may come.

I think deviled eggs will help with that tremendously.