My resolutions for 2020: The year-end assessment

The thankful end of 2020 means it is time to assess how I did on the resolutions I made at the beginning of the year, aka the naive before times. Much like the year, it will not be pretty.

1. Drop below 180 pounds ... and stay there.
The last time I stepped on the scale in 2020 (the morning of December 24), I weighed 191.8 pounds—the exact same I weighed the first time I stepped on the scale in 2020 (January 3). Though I did not drop below 180 pounds and stay there, meaning this resolution is a miss, I maintained, which is good. I weigh more than I want to, but I did not let myself go or gain the COVID 15 this year.

2. Get stronger, slim down, and stay loose.
I think I’m stronger and slightly slimmer because of it, and I’m loose, so I did this in 2020.

3. Keep running.
I did this! Staying loose allowed me to keep running throughout 2020. I even participated in the December Project again, running at least a half mile every day in December except on Sundays. I had a good year running. Though I had a few overuse injuries, they only slowed me down.

4. Keep cycling and get involved in the local cycling community.
I did not cycle much. I did a little at the end of the year, but a broken pedal made me leery of riding my bike for much of 2020. I did it eventually, and even bought replacement pedals, but have not installed them. I also did not get involved in the local cycling community.

5. Play cards more often and learn euchre.
I did not learn euchre, but I played cards more often. My opponent may often be a seven-year old, but I played cards more.

6. Visit a state I’ve never visited.
This did not happen because of the pandemic. I ventured outside of Iowa only twice and for just a few hours each time.

7. Watch more sunsets.
I watched a handful of sunsets this year, but I did not watch many in the second half.

8. Write.
I did not do this much. My lack of blogging is proof of that.

9. Continue my professional transition.
I did this! I let go of one journal and became fully employed by the association—and with a W2! Hooray for simpler income taxes for 2021!

10. Say no.
I did not do this often.

11. Continue getting the Led out.
I did not do this once this year. I may not have purposely listened to a single second of Led Zeppelin in 2020, which is definitely another strike against the year.

12. Continue to purge.
I did this a little in 2020. It’s a work in progress, and I’m making progress.