Preparing for 2011...

It’s the end of 2010 and really, thank God, because this year isn’t going down on the books as one of my favorites ever… Between natural disasters, accidents, injuries, and illness, my inner circle of family and friends have had a rough year… I turned 30, not one that I was looking forward to, and now with this shoulder surgery, my style is being cramped… Complaining only gets a couple sentences of my time, so let’s move on to the reflection that this time of year provokes…

 Coach John Wooden
1910-2010

Sleeping in a chair and having the Ambien fail typically around 3am (I promise I’m not already complaining again) has given me plenty of opportunity to reflect.  I have thought about lots of different things in the early hours of the day while listening to the hum of my circulating ice machine, the sounds of George sleeping, and occasionally the R&B/Soul or Radiohead channel on Pandora.  I thought about how uncomfortable I have been through this process and, aside for being grateful for being in the financial position to have an awesome surgeon and physical therapist and to be able to fix the issue, I thought about what I can do to avoid ever going through this again.  Interestingly enough, a quote from coaching great John Wooden kept popping into my head.  Coach Wooden said, “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”  Without going into the deep philosophical thoughts that I had surrounding my injury and my failing to prepare, I will say that it is around this quote that my resolutions for 2011 center.

My resolution this year is to be prepared for what I can prepare for.  I resolve to be prepared to live a better, healthier life.  I resolve to be prepared to be a better wife, a better daughter, a better sister, a better friend, and a better citizen.  I resolve to be prepared to be a better teammate and prepared to contribute more to my team.

Father's Day 2010
A family that surfs together, stays together... =)

In year’s past, I have been one of those people who resolve to not make a resolution because I’d “blow it” in the first few weeks of the year anyway or I’d set totally unrealistic goals and feel like crap when I didn’t achieve them.  This year, I am resolving to resolve more frequently—to refocus and regroup when I experience setbacks… To accept that it doesn’t have to be an “all or nothing” mentality in achieving my goals—that this year brings a life long resolution.  This is not saying that I think I can be prepared for everything.  Life happens, and I love that life happens because it’s where we learn how much we love our family and how great our friends are.

I am prepared to make 2011 a great year.  It’ll be the year my shoulder gets healthy and I’ll get to surf and paddle again. The year my baby sister graduates from Rutgers University.  And the year that I prepare to make a better life for George and I, and for those we love around us.