Midterm Report

image from here

The days are slow, but the years fly by.  We're halfway through 2020.  Each year, I set and present my goals for the year in January.  Today I look at how I'm doing.

2020 is, of course, much different than we all anticipated. In a nutshell, I made good progress on many goals until March, when COVID-19 shut down most of Europe (and the world) and radically changed our routines.  That said, I think things are still going okay, and the break from the typical stresses of life was, perhaps oddly, refreshing and welcome. That said, I hope and pray we are able to find effective treatments for this illness and resume some degree of 'normalcy' . . . though I also hope our new normal is healthier on many fronts. Sometimes severe disruptions illuminate what really matters in this life- does how we spend our time reflect that?

Anyway, here are the goals and how it's going.

Spiritual
- Continue to improve routines in prayer and scripture, including the family
- Finish planned readings related to church leadership
The readings are consistent and valuable; other elements started well, and have been consistent if not as 'quality' as they should be. Including the kids remains difficult- after a good start, things dovetailed rapidly in the pandemic.

Grade: B-

Nutritional/Fitness
- Lose 20 lbs
- Get a six-pack
- Eat no candy (baked goods are fine) except for 70% chocolate
- Drink sugary drinks only once/month
- Run 200 miles total
Over halfway to my weight loss goal! The first three months were great; I've since plateaued but remain hopeful that I can hit my target. The six-pack remains elusive but I see occasional promise; I have reduced my sweets (though COVID time has seen some mild slips in discipline). Bizarrely, I've taken to drinking a morning capuccino or latte in this time, and drink beer more frequently (I still can't say I enjoy the drink, but I no longer detest it. Hefeweizens and Kellerbiers are my favorites). But sugary drinks are non-existent, so there's that. Running has been an issue due to injury, but I have a new love: bicycling. I'm near the 700-mile mark on the year. Welcome, Shadowfax!

Grade: A-

Financial
- Track all spending, not just personal
- Get good budgeting system in place
This started really well, then COVID blew it away. Okay, I just lost discipline in the matter. On the plus side, we've used this time to reduce superfluous grocery purchases, and of course haven't spent much on travel. So things are going well in a certain way, but could be better.

Grade: B-

Reading
- Read 50 books
- Complete 80% of my German Reading List
Both of these goals remain on track to be met or exceeded. Reading is so valuable; use this gift.

Grade: A

Travel
- Take the kids to Belgium and France
- Plan a big trip (to Eastern Europe, Southern France, or Spain)
Well, we had plans . . . we've canceled two trips so far, and I suspect more are on the horizon. Highly unlikely we'll do much, barring medical miracles.

Grade: F

Fluency
- Learn 5000 more German words
- Complete the DuoLingo German course
- Read 5 books auf Deutsch
This is going pretty well. I completed DuoLingo, continue to practice German and increase vocabulary. My new goal here is to achieve "B2" certification.

Grade: A-

Games
- Host more game nights
- Play Magic: Arena no more than three days per week
Well, COVID struck again. I need to look into virtual game nights, though, and I've slacked in that area. I enjoy Arena and was disciplined until the virus; now I play it daily, though normally not for too long. I started a second blog, focused on Magic, in this 'social distance' time.

Grade: C

Overall

I can't be blamed for the travel failure, so this year is going pretty well- perhaps better in some ways than the past few. But there's always room for improvement. The challenge for what remains of 2020 is how to socially interact in meaningful ways.  And, honestly, I really wasted a lot of quarantine time- I could have used that much more effectively. Time is such a gift . . . don't squander it.

Grade: B-