My New Decade's Resolutions

Every year people set New Year's resolutions in an effort to better themselves in some way. It might be to get healthier, more financially stable, a challenge to incorporate a new habit, or some other thing that they've struggle with. I'm one of those people and have written about my resolutions here on the blog over the past few years. My most recent post was about the the 3 things I want to accomplish in 2020. Yesterday, I stumbled across this tweet, which I assume was meant as a joke. It reads: "So what are everyone's new decade resolutions? Just remember these are ten times more binding than regular new years resolutions." It immediately got me to thinking about doing just that.

I'd never considered doing it myself and frankly had never heard of it being a thing. A quick Google search revealed that they're rarely called "New Decade resolutions". Most of the stuff I could find was more about long term planning goals. The usual things like paying off the mortgage or saving for retirement were prevalent. While those are certainly respectable goals, they're boring. I want to challenge myself with a goal or goals that mean more to me. After talking to Christine about it, I remembered I do have a Bucket List, so I've pulled some inspiration from there. Before I go any further, I'm not here to argue over when the decade actually begins. Even numbers are superior.

By the year 2030, I will have:

Taught our children how to cook
It's no secret that I enjoy food and that I equally enjoy cooking it. One of the things my mom did for my brother and I, that I really appreciated, was force us to cook dinner from start to finish when we were in our teens. We didn't do it that often, but it turned out to be incredibly helpful in my adult life. We had to pick out a dish that we wanted to make and then do all the steps to complete it. I want to do something similar, starting now, while the kids are still young. Obviously the lessons can continue beyond the next 10 years, but getting them into the kitchen will teach them essential life skills.

I don't expect them to make dinner yet. They can however start to learn proper knife skills, how to pick out fresh produce, what flavors go well with others, and things of that nature. Grace has always helped me in the kitchen and Ben has shown interest here and there. Keeping them interested and passing along as much knowledge as possible along the way will be incredibly useful for when they go out on their own. Knowing how to feed yourself and others without microwaving a frozen dinner or ordering takeout is incredibly rewarding. It's a skill that I continue to work on and one of the positive things about me that I hope to pass on to them.

Traveled to Europe
Christine and I have always wanted to travel to Europe. There are a handful of countries that we'd like to go to specifically: Italy, France, and Ireland, just to name a few. Thanks to the internet, we can see what all of these places look like. It's not the same as in person, obviously, but it gives us the ability to see the sites unlike many of the generations that have come before. I do want to visit the must see places all over Europe, but more importantly, I want to eat my way through as many countries as I can.

Seeing ruins or monuments or churches is an important part of any travel experience. But I think experiencing culture through food provides a better connection than anything you can merely see with your eyes. Eating fresh pasta made by grandmothers in Italy or biting into a fresh baguette in France is what I look forward to doing. It's still unclear what country or countries we'll go to, but it's been something we've both wanted for a long time. As the kids get older and can care for themselves more, Christine and I will have the opportunity to take a trip that we've always dreamed of taking.

Stayed Healthy
I hesitate to even list this one because who knows what will happen over the next 10 years. I guess I could say the same thing about any resolution I make. Keeping the weight I lost off for an entire year was an incredible accomplishment. Continuing to do that while staying healthy overall for the next decade would be nothing short of a miracle. The probability of me putting back on a good portion (or more) of the weight I lost is fairly high. It could happen because I get lazy or injured or depressed or some other reason. However, I'm hoping by declaring this as a resolution that I will focus on over the next decade will push back against those possibilities.

I'm in some of the best shape of my life right now at 34 years old. But from everything I read, it all starts going down hill real quick real soon. I want to be able to keep up with our kids in all of their activities. I want to wake up in the morning without my body screaming in pain. I want to be around to see all of the events that happen for decades to come. Staying healthy is the best way that I can make sure that all happens. I mean I could die typing this sent.....I'm not going to finish that. I have some ideas, starting right away in this new year, to get this resolution started off right. Of the three, this one is THE MOST IMPORTANT. So even if I fail at one or both of the others, if I succeed with this one, the decade will be a success overall.

If you have any New Decade's resolutions or were inspired to make some because of this post, please share them by leaving a comment below. Thank you for reading and good luck in the new decade!