Well, you know

We all want to change…

Every December, a few days before New Year’s Eve, my family and I drive out to Point Reyes for our traditional lunch at Nick’s Cove on the Tomales Bay.  We’ve established this annual ritual over the past several years not only for the delicious food and stellar view, but also because somehow this outing has become our four-some’s forum for declaring New Year’s resolutions.  We call to order over garlic fries and cups of clam chowder, beginning with our assessment of last year’s goals.  CMB expertly, without leaving a trace of grease on his iPhone screen, pulls up our individual lists of intentions.  Following some victorious pats on the back, and good-natured ribbing for our respective failures, we begin the process all over again.  Each year I am faced with the dilemma of how to set tangible personal goals without tainting these resolves with unrealistic and unattainable expectations.  Eating better, getting stronger, being happier- are all abstract concepts which always make it to my list.  Intellectually I know that in order to be successful, I need to be more specific in asserting exactly what I hope to attain and how I plan to go about getting there.  But here in lies the quandary.  Once I present my plans to impressionable ears, I sure as hell better follow through.  In fact, sometimes the knowledge that I am modeling accomplishment for my children is as daunting as the propositions themselves.  I’m not sure which is the most challenging- cutting way back on deep fried potato products, training for an athletic event, reigning in my cynicism, or being observed by people who look up to and expect only the best from you.  One of my most humiliating luncheon years was when my kids realized I had failed at my most specific resolve to date.  In a flurry of late December idealism, I professed that I would give up watching all “Real Housewives” episodes in the coming year.  Needless to say, this commitment didn’t last longer than one grueling week.  I needed my brain candy more than well, actual sweets (which I did OK scaling back on).  My kids were so scandalized by this brazen lack of achievement that years later, they still bring it up when they see “my shows” on the DVR.  I suppose I haven’t recovered from this self-imposed defeat either.  As a result, in 2014 I’m staging a personal revolution.  My approach to resolutions this year is as follows- keep it simple, keep it vague, keep it real.