2013, A Vague-ish Beginning

This time of year everyone is picking a word. It’s the thing to do. I believe in equal opportunity for all words and therefore don’t single out one to focus on throughout the year.

Some of you may know that I pick songs to exemplify my goals for the year. Actually, it’s more like the song picks me. I get a song stuck in my head and somehow it ends up melding with my vague-ish thoughts and feelings about the coming year and my life in general.

Which is why I’m a little neurotic right now.

It’s January.

It’s time for resolutions, goals, or, in my case, vague-ish thoughts and feelings.

And what song is stuck in my head?

This one.



Yeah, I don’t want to own that.

But, seriously, have you seen the movie yet? I thought it was amazing. Anne Hathaway’s performance will stay with me forever. I know some people are criticizing the vocals, but I think the director’s approach of having the actors sing live in every take brought raw emotion to an already moving story. In fact, I think a perfect and pretty vocal score would be false to the gritty reality portrayed.

Just go see it if you haven’t already. And if you have, let me know what you thought.

And for goodness sake, please suggest some songs for me to listen to. My brother and sister-in-law gave me a Florence and the Machine CD for Christmas which I haven’t listened to yet. Maybe I’ll find my 2013 song there.

So do you make resolutions? Choose a word? Or do you just have goals you plan to pursue?

Last year my goal was something like surrender (yes, vague-ish) and my song was “Giving up the Gun” by Vampire Weekend. And it was a year of giving things up. Not giving up, mind you, but laying dreams and desires down. I even gave up writing this past fall as the needs of my family weighed heavily on me. It seemed like all the voices in my life were ones of need and there was no voice, other than my own imagination, telling me to write. Thank God for critique partners who understand the pressures of life but also believe in me as a writer. They gave me the freedom to take a breather and focus on the clamoring voices but wouldn’t let me throw in the towel for good.

So in the absence of a song that isn’t terrifying, the firm refusal to discriminate against words, and the ironic scorn of clichéd resolutions, I present a list of things I’d kind of like to do, maybe this year.

1. Make memories with my kids that don’t include the words, “Remember that time we sat on the couch and did nothing?”
2. Try to be more professional about writing. You know, stuff like sticking to daily writing times, blogging, and seriously pondering what to do with my website should my husband ever have time to work on it again.
3. Read more books.
4. Spend less money.
5. Drink water.
6. Figure out how to combine the following two letters into meaningful communication. N. O. So far all I’ve managed is, “On, on, on,” which is not producing the hoped-for result.

How about you? What’s your word? What’s your goal or resolution? Do you pick a song for the year?

Does the phrase “Life has killed the dream I dreamed” wake you in the dead of night?

I have GOT to get my Spotify on!