As I did last year and the year before, I find it helpful to reflect upon the good and the bad of 2017.
Minimization
My 2015 focused on minimization, and I've tried to maintain that mindset. I'm now fine with books- I'll buy a few each year but remove about the same. The main progress in 2017 was Lego: I've finally relegated that hobby to my children, keeping a handful of favorite sets and turning over the rest to them (or selling some for a tidy profit). It was hard, but maintaining a "use it or lost it" mindset is valuable. Next up is board games (more on this below).
Personal Spending
I did reasonably well here, using only gift money (or proceeds from game/card sales) for personal spending. I'm less materialistic than I used to be, but I'm not there yet; I still covet far too much.
Reading
My goals here were simple:
- Keep my "owned but unread" pile small (under 10 books)
- Read up on the Reformation, as this year marked 500 years since Martin Luther and his 95 Theses
- Read a few books I own but haven't read for years
I met all three goals . . . and it was fun, as always. I read about 60 books and over 15,000 pages this year; I'm happy with that, but may read a tad less (40?) next year. My post here recaps this year's recommendations.
Board Games
I played a lot of games this year, and the blog reflected that, with board game reviews featuring heavily (about one-third of my posts were game-related). Check out the master game page here for an aggregate listing.
I see the trend in board games that I've seen in books, movies, and other problem areas in my life: I start a hobby by purchasing far too many things, then pare down and become more responsible as I learn my tastes and dial it down to acceptable levels. I'm still in the initial phase of this hobby- buying too much. I own "only" 60 games but have yet to play a quarter of them. I hope to tackle that problem next year, playing them all and minimizing where appropriate.
Fitness
My goal was to lose 15 lbs and stretch more; I dropped only 5 lbs but met the latter, now stretching after every gym workout. This noticeably decreased my back pain and is now a part of my routine.
My overall fitness levels stayed about the same as 2016, as shown below. I had fewer runs than I would have liked; my 2-year-old decided waking up early was fun, so I had to back down running to give my wife a breather during the week. I did the gym three times each week plus one run on weekends . . . I hope to get back to more frequent running next year, but that depends on how the little one does. My distance increased, though, which was a good thing: I'm back to 5K (3.1 miles) as my standard distance.
2014: 51 runs for 104.6 miles, 98 gym workouts
2015: 47 runs for 103.0 miles, 81 gym workouts, 5 soccer games, 5 PT sessions
2016: 98 runs for 205.8 miles, 115 gym workouts, 4 bike rides
2017: 77 runs for 203.9 miles, 111 gym workouts
I also did 25 yard work sessions (mowing, raking, weeding, trimming), which definitely counts as exercise.
Blogging
I blogged more this year than I did the two prior, and continue to enjoy this hobby. Though most of the posts (as always) were book reviews, game reviews were a close second. Mid-year, I discovered this concept of "pages" vs. "posts," and made some changes. Now, the sections across the top are pages, which are more visible (since they're not tied to date of publication, like posts are). Most of my summary posts were so converted and are now easily accessed.
Spiritual
My relationship with the Lord still isn't where it should be. I need to figure out better approaches to prayer & Bible study within the realities of small children and early morning demands. I did slightly better than last year, but much improvement is necessary. On the plus side, we did family devotionals for about half of the year, at dinner time, and that went well. Now to get back into those . . .
Parenting
This section is a verbatim repeat from last year (and the year before). I'm not a great parent. I'm too quick to anger at home- I have to remember that I can't expect my children (ages 7, 5, and 2) to act (or reason) like adults. I also get uneasy when the house is a mess- which is all the time- so I have to dial back the OCD if I have any hope of surviving their childhood. Finally, I don't do a good job cherishing the time, frequently looking away to the future when the current challenges will be overcome. May I remember that current challenges will be replaced with other, possibly harder, ones, so I need to learn to enjoy each stage for what it is. Our kids actually like us now- so may I take advantage of that rather than view it as a burden that they're CONSTANTLY in our faces, even when we're in the bathroom.
Conclusion
This year, I was comfortable with progress in reading, weight loss, flexibility, family devotions, and blogging. Next year, I need to lose more weight, improve personal devotions, and work on parenting skills.
I'm glad I made certain strides, but 2018 needs to see improvement in many areas. This will always be true, I suppose, but it's important to keep striving.
2017: 77 runs for 203.9 miles, 111 gym workouts
I also did 25 yard work sessions (mowing, raking, weeding, trimming), which definitely counts as exercise.
Blogging
I blogged more this year than I did the two prior, and continue to enjoy this hobby. Though most of the posts (as always) were book reviews, game reviews were a close second. Mid-year, I discovered this concept of "pages" vs. "posts," and made some changes. Now, the sections across the top are pages, which are more visible (since they're not tied to date of publication, like posts are). Most of my summary posts were so converted and are now easily accessed.
Spiritual
My relationship with the Lord still isn't where it should be. I need to figure out better approaches to prayer & Bible study within the realities of small children and early morning demands. I did slightly better than last year, but much improvement is necessary. On the plus side, we did family devotionals for about half of the year, at dinner time, and that went well. Now to get back into those . . .
Parenting
This section is a verbatim repeat from last year (and the year before). I'm not a great parent. I'm too quick to anger at home- I have to remember that I can't expect my children (ages 7, 5, and 2) to act (or reason) like adults. I also get uneasy when the house is a mess- which is all the time- so I have to dial back the OCD if I have any hope of surviving their childhood. Finally, I don't do a good job cherishing the time, frequently looking away to the future when the current challenges will be overcome. May I remember that current challenges will be replaced with other, possibly harder, ones, so I need to learn to enjoy each stage for what it is. Our kids actually like us now- so may I take advantage of that rather than view it as a burden that they're CONSTANTLY in our faces, even when we're in the bathroom.
Conclusion
This year, I was comfortable with progress in reading, weight loss, flexibility, family devotions, and blogging. Next year, I need to lose more weight, improve personal devotions, and work on parenting skills.
I'm glad I made certain strides, but 2018 needs to see improvement in many areas. This will always be true, I suppose, but it's important to keep striving.
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