Here we are, the first morning of 2026. We did not stay up until midnight, but we did have champagne after watching my dad's alma mater, the University of Michigan, lose to some school in Texas. We did some coloring on coloring sheets we made ourselves. We did not talk about resolutions.
This morning is the time for me to set intentions. I have four. Careful readers of this blog might say, "Didn't you have three intentions that you couldn't keep for 2025?"
I appreciate the power of New Year's Day intentions that tug at me all year long, even if I'm not entirely successful. This year, I'll have 2 writing intentions and 2 health intentions.
Writing Intentions
--I'm going to keep one of my intentions from 2025. Here's what I wrote last year: "I am not feeling OK about how many poems I am not writing. I do a good job of writing down fragments and inspirations, but I'm also aware that I have fewer inspirations and fragments in the past year or two than has been usual. I want to end the year with 52 poems written, finished poems. They may not be worth sending out, but they need to be finished. Fifty-two poems gives me space to catch up, and space to have a white hot streak that sets me ahead."
--Always hopeful about having a book of poems with a spine, I also plan to create a new collection of poems, with the title Higher Ground.
Health Intentions
--I can no longer find the article that recommended taking a walk after dinner, even a short walk. I wanted to doublecheck the benefits that the article discussed, but no matter. For four or more days a week, I want to take a walk after dinner, in addition to the other exercise I get through the day. It can be a very short walk (the article talked about how the benefit was in the going out and doing it, not in the distance covered)--the goal is to get out of the house and get moving before settling into a chair for the evening.
--I thought about having 2026 be the year I gave up alcohol altogether. But I realize this about myself: if I tell myself I can never have something ever again, I often end up consuming more of it. So, in 2026, I want to have 300 days of no alcohol consumption. That gives me 65 days where I could drink. And to be sure that those days aren't days of excess consumption to make the most of them, which often happens when I give myself a splurge day of any kind, I'm going to say that if I limit myself to one drink, that day counts as a half day, not a full day.
So, let's see how I do. I'm excited about these intentions.
