New Year's Resolutions

Like many others, I tend to create goals for myself and work on them throughout the year. I often group these in 4 areas: school/career/life ambitions, personal goals, relationships, and logistics.

School/Career/Life Ambitions
This semester in school I start working on my actual graduate project, rather than just taking classes. My project is to write a homeschool curriculum for multiple age groups on social justice and people's history that teaches about the religions and cultures of the world. I intend on writing as much as I can (my goal is writing six-eight  complete units this spring, complete with activities, reading lists, and field trip suggestions) as well as researching what homeschool formats tend to work for folks the best.

I will be finally moving to Columbus this semester and looking at two different UU churches to see if there is a place for me in the Religious education departments. I so enjoy teaching Sunday School!

My family is looking for a starter place and we hope to homestead, even though we will be renting. I will investigating locations, statutes (regarding gardens, chickens, and bees), and conditions of each place we look into. Since I will be staying home with Rowan and writing/taking classes- it will be up to me to create a homestead.

I will be writing and earning units from past semesters where I did not write up related work in churches, as well as writing more throughout the summer for credit, so that I can graduate sooner.

Personal Goals
Everyone says it, but my goal is to get in shape. Chasing a toddler is only getting harder! I thought that being out here in Ohio would allow me more time to exercise, but Rowan's toddlerhood has been far more demanding than I ever expected, keeping me from schoolwork and exercise and other personal goals when he is awake! I need to work to find co-op childcare or some other solution when I get up to Columbus to allow for these things to happen.

Relationships
My partner and I are still working out what it means to be a family, and what it means to be parents as well as partners (living and magical partners). My goal is to do this with compassion and grace, because lately it has been a struggle. This is the first time my partner has been employed for years and the first time I have ever been, essentially, a stay-at-home-mom. The roles are awkward and we have no script.

I get to stay at home with my son and watch him grow and develop. I am so blessed! We are working on all kinds of life skills and educational goals: learning names of his emotions, counting and numbers, the alphabet, full sentences rather than just nouns and verbs, and how to do certain life skills: this year we will start potty learning, more things around the house like chores and pet care, getting to bed on his own (in his own bed!), and getting dressed himself. He is such a little boy now, and not a baby anymore. It's amazing.

I am looking forward to cultivating all kinds of connections with new friends in Columbus- artsy, Crafty, spiritual, activist, and other parents. I look forward to laying down the foundations of tribe, cultivating a community for myself, and getting to know all the amazing people that I know live there. I plan on getting involved in the poetry slam again, as well as doing visual art and crafts. In addition to the UU church, I intend on checking out the Shambhala Center further, meeting other traditional Witches and other pagan folk, and doing interfaith activism in the Occupy movement.

Logistics
So much to plan for and do! Look for a place in a neighborhood that is central to transit, safe, has a play space for Rowan, allows us to get to a library and a park easily and has space for two adults, a child, two parrots, a temple, and is still affordable!

Look into homesteading rules, as well as laws about herbalism and manufacturing herbal remedies. I plan on resuming making tinctures, balms, and salves when I get settled in, and starting with medicinal mushrooms, since I can cultivate them anywhere, anytime.

Create a home. While that one looks the shortest, I will probably spend the most time doing this, as it give life to all other goals.

What are you planning for 2012?