It’s that time of the month again; no, not that time of the month. It’s time, once again, to put my monthly goals in writing. Doing so keeps me honest. If I believe the general public actually cares about my goals, I’m more likely to follow-through. In reality, I know that you don’t care; why should you? But if I believe you do, if I believe you might judge the content of my character based on my commitment to these goals, I’ll try harder to complete them. So, let’s recap the goals from February:

1. Clean out the medicine cabinet. Yes! I did this almost immediately. Frankly, I was getting a little tired of bottles of expired medication falling on my head each time I opened the door. And considering Bridget was habitually getting into the cupboard (which once prompted a call to Poison Control), I thought it only safe to get rid of temptation.

2. Finish steam cleaning/scrubbing the bathroom floor. Uh, no. Why? I’m not sure. Laziness? Quite possibly.

3. Finish sending out the kids’ school pictures. Yes! I had pictures left to send to my dad and to my younger sister.

4. Write and send a letter to my dad (we are basically estranged, but I keep hoping that one of these days he will acknowledge me and his grandchildren). Yes! This coincided with #3. Had I not a reason to write my dad, I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I’m really not sure you could even call it a “letter,” considering it consisted of, at most, three sentences. On a side note, I received a mass email from my dad’s current wife letting everyone know they are moving at the end of the month. I had heard this news through the grapevine (my aunt heard it from my grandpa who heard it from his and my dad’s mutual barber). While it didn’t come as a shock, the idea that I’ll never again set foot in that house was a little hard to swallow. Had I know that the last time I was in the house a decade ago would be THE last time, I might have lingered. Then again, I left the house abruptly in tears after having a horrible confrontation with my dad and step-mother in which I called them hypocritical, so-called Christians and in which my step-mother said to me, You aren’t prepared to know what I really think about you. Fun times! Anyway, I was supposed to see my dad this summer when we take a trip out to Wichita; he was going to meet my family for the first time. But now he is moving to Arkansas. His wife, with whom I’ve had more contact these last 10 years than my dad, said we would be welcome to visit them on our way to Kansas. I told her I would only visit at the invitation of my dad. So far, no invitation. And yet, I still send him pictures. Why? Why? Isn’t it time to sever the connection completely?

5. Organize the kids’ clothes to list on eBay. I didn’t do this, and not because I am lazy. Bridget’s preschool is holding its annual rummage sale in May. I’ve decided to donate the kids’ clothes to that. Our little co-op needs all the extra money it can get. I would rather it get the proceeds from the sale than have eBay make more money from their preposterous fees.

 

Overall, not a bad month! Here are the goals for March:

1. Write and send a query. I have at least five article ideas I came up with just today, but they won’t earn me any clips or paychecks by sitting on my desk.

2. Read a book. I’ve already read The Golden Compass, **psst - read my review** I am almost finished with The Subtle Knife, and I hope to have read The Amber Spyglass. Three books in one month - can it be done??

3. Exercise. I’ve already established the reason for my recent reading craze; it’s because I read while walking on the treadmill. You’d be amazed how quickly time passes. However, you must tread (ha!) carefully; I’ve almost fallen twice. I do walk at a quick clip for a good amount of time, which is great for stretching my legs after spending a fair amount of time hunkered in front of the computer. However, I need to start running to get a really good cardiovascular workout. Small steps, small steps . . .

4. Straighten out things with the school district. Ugh. I won’t even go into further detail.

5. Resume constructing meal plans. I haven’t much felt like cooking lately. Meals have been thrown together, which is so unlike how I normally do things. I blame the weather, in part. I’ve been quite tired lately. And, I hate my kitchen. No one likes to cook in a crappy kitchen.