Welcome to 2020!

New year means resolutions, right?

Not this year. Resolutions in my mind are about depriving myself something. It’s like Lent for a whole year. Or maybe the rest of my life. The pressure! Which is why I never keep them if I do make them.

This year is different. It’s a new year and a new decade. Instead of resolutions I’ve got goals. Big goals. Some are verytangible, like I want to get a roof rack for Serenity. We are going to see at least eleven states and Canada when we go to Vanstock Alaska this summer. That leads to the goal of renewing my passport. I also need to complete my advanced health care directive.

These are concrete goals that can be checked off a list.

But there are other, more abstract, goals too. I’m pretty good about sharing smiles. I grin like an idiot in public a lot. You should try it. It’s fun to disarm people with nothing but a smile. 

On Instagram I can be stingy with the likes. Why? No idea. But I am. It’s weird. I heard that today and was like, “That’s me.” There are an infinite number of likes. It’s like using blinkers in the car. I’m not going to use them up. And I’m going to take that one step further: If I don’t want to “like” someone’s post, then why am I following them in the first place? Unfollow! Hopefully I see more posts I do like and won’t have these other images filling my feed.

Probably the most abstract goal on my list is to step out of my comfort zone and take up space. I know vanlife looks like stepping out of a comfort zone. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’ve been planning it for so long, vanlife isn’t uncomfortable. It’s glorious!

However, making noise and being heard can be excruciating. Putting myself, my ideas, my darlings, out there for the world of anonymous commentators to pass judgment upon can be daunting. No, I don’t particularly care what people think of me. One of the major benefits of getting older. That doesn’t mean I want to hear what anyone else has to say about it.

Get ready 2020. Here I come.