A new year

  
Column by Chris Graham
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I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions, and I wouldn’t call what I’m doing this year resolving, but, yeah, I’m trying to treat the change of the calendar as being significant from a personal-development standpoint.

It started with a new haircut on New Year’s Day. Nothing fancy – sort of a military high-and-tight with a little left up front to style.

Before the New Year we went out and bought a new exercise bike. I’ve been riding it 30 minutes a day, and that’s what I’m set on doing every day.

The missus and I have begun to take it a little easier a little earlier – taking in movies on the OnDemand channel, playing the Wii, having game nights with Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble and Monopoly.

I’m going to be more systematic about my literary writing. Yes, I do literary writing. Not that you’ve had a chance to read any of it. (Yet.)

At my initiative, we redid our living room – and I mean completely redid. Moved everything around. Took several hours doing so. The end result – a much more livable living room.

I’ve also added something to the daily prayer that I offer to the higher power – inserting the Golden Rule that we grew up with as part of the ritual. And I’m trying to live it, which is probably more important than just mouthing the words.

I’m the stubborn sort, so all I have to do is tell myself that I won’t keep this all up past the first couple of weeks of the year to push myself to make them a permanent part of the routine.

Mission accomplished there, I hope.