I mentioned elsewhere that I’m living in a full house right now. It’s me, my daughter, her partner, and their three sons (all ages 5 and under) in my small condo. Earlier this year they were unceremoniously kicked out of their other home (a story for another time), so I’m helping them until they can get back on their feet.
Because my daughter and her partner are juggling the needs of a kindergartner, a toddler, and an infant, I often pitch in with parenting duties. For example, each night I read a story to my eldest grandson before bedtime.
This nightly routine has become more interactive as my grandson has memorized his favorite story. We go through the book together, taking turns with each page. I read, he recites most of it from memory, though he is learning to recognize some of the words.
The book is Rox’s Secret Code, by Mara Lecocq and Nathan Archambault. It’s about a coder girl who makes toys come to life through programming and builds a Chorebot that runs amok.
Another robot she creates is the Mischief Bot, which does exactly the opposite of what you tell it to do (a lot like my eldest grandson 😉).
What does a children’s book have to do with New Year’s resolutions? In 2025, I too have decided to be more like Mischief Bot and do the exact opposite of my “programming” (i.e., as a shy introvert).
With that in mind, here are my resolutions for the year.
1. Be an active participant in a local empty nesters group. Although I’m not technically an empty nester at the moment, my daughter is grown & the group comprises folks my age in the community who get together regularly. I’ve already started on this one by volunteering to help plan events.
2. Network in person instead of just online. I’m planning to attend as many local tech comm and editorial related events as I can.
3. Build a YouTube channel. I’m in the process of setting up my home studio and will start posting videos in the new year. The primary topic will be tech comm.
4. Get involved in community organizing. I’m not sure how to go about this just yet but am looking into it.
5. Volunteer at the farmers market over the summer.
So, those are my primary resolutions. The following are secondary and a bit more mundane.
* Read at least 24 books. Two per month to start, more if I can.
* Go vegetarian. As part of this my daughter, her partner and I have been talking about growing vegetables and kitchen herbs on the balcony next spring/summer.
* Get out for daily walks around town with my daughter and the kids. A while back there was a hashtag for this — #StetWalk.
And that’s it for now. I will post periodic updates in 2025 and report back on all of the above next December.
