november's resolutions

this post is either coming really early or way too late, you decide. i've recently been feeling the urge to change things up a bit. as you may know from my last post, life has gone from about 95mph to a more steady pace these days. while i'm grateful that the absolute chaos of wedding planning is over, i'm starting to feel the itch to take on some new challenges. so, rather than new year's resolutions i am making november's resolutions. the motivation is here now, so better to take advantage and start before hibernation-mode sets in than wait until the dead of winter to try and re-muster the motivation. so here we go with a few resolutions...

be more faithful in doing yoga.

write at least once a week (and do a better job maintaining my blog, hence the makeover today).

create margins of time to just be.

fully embrace the seasons rather than complain my way to summer.

read.

be intentional about investing in the here and now, take advantage of moments to talk with complete strangers, and be a part of where we live.

the last resolution stems from an experience josh and i had going out for ice cream last week. we were in line trying to decide which of the plethora of flavors would satisfy our sweet tooth for the night. this takes concentration, right? hard ice cream vs. soft serve, healthier low fat version vs. indulgence, cone vs. cup, and other such weighty decisions. engulfed by the concentration required for these choices, i didn't even realize that the woman behind us had started up a conversation.

"oh, this is new! do you know if they keep this up all winter?"

pause.

her pondering look broke my concentration and i realized the question was addressed to me.

"oh, i'm sorry. what was that?"

repeat the question. "this is new! do you know if they keep this up all winter?"

"uhhmm...i'm not really sure."

turn back to the ice cream list. before i can even re-focus on my selection process, she asks another question.

"so, tell me about the low fat option over there. do you think it's good? does it taste like the real thing, or can you tell it's watered down? have you ever had this one?"

whoa. calm down with the questions. this is only my second time at this place and i have no idea whether the low fat version tastes watered down. we were motioned up to the window to place our order before i could respond to her trail of questions. as we finished, i quickly responded "i've never had that kind before" as she moved over to the second window to place her order. we grabbed our cones and headed to the car to blast the heat while we eat (after all, ice cream in november in new england doesn't make much sense). once in the car, we both said, "she must not be from around here." how sadly adjusted to new england culture are we that we can't reciprocate a conversation started by a stranger in the ice cream line? we get suspicious about questions, skeptical about eye contact, and turned off by smiles. the whole thing sounds pathetic, right? like guys, c'mon, is it really a big deal to talk to the lady in the ice cream line? but seriously, this IS counter-cultural in new england. and in all honesty, i don't think she was from around here. regardless, the encounter was a wake up call to how sadly adjusted we had become in just a few short years of living here. embarrassed by our reactions to the woman, we started talking about how great it would be to live in a place where it was normal to greet strangers and strike up conversation. life would be more joyful and less cold (in reference to emotions and the weather). well then, we resolved, if we can't relocate to that type of place right now, let's be more intentional about living that way right here, right now. and thus began the november's resolutions.