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I'm a work in progress

I have stopped making official New Year's resolutions because I've never made it past the second week.

I stopped giving 'things' up for Lent because I've rarely made halfway through the 40 days without succumbing. (That Jesus was sure amazing because I've given up things like chocolate or wine but He gave up the essentials, like food and water. And the only tempter I had was a commercial or a walk through the grocery store - with a full stomach and plenty of water to drink. Jesus had Satan, the greatest of tempters, and he certainly had to be hungry and thirsty).

I recently signed up for a 30 Day challenge to lose 12 pounds. Not a monumental task except for the fact that I signed up for it while transitioning to the wheelchair. In winter. With a wheelchair without snow tires that made it especially challenging to get out and about.  Yep, I set myself up for failure on that one! 

On one of the diet plans I tried a few years back, my goal was to lose 40 pounds. I got to 38, and called it good. (By the way, I've lost and gained the same 40 pounds at least four times in my adult life.)

My epic failures do not all relate to weight loss or food either. I have on numerous occasions, promised myself that I would:

     1) Write daily;
     2) Write weekly;
     3) Write.

Like the book I've been working on for the past two years - and I think it's good and might even have a chance to get published - I've promised myself to finish it. This year. Well it's March 17 (Happy St. Patrick's Day, by the way!), and I've worked on it twice. 

I have also made promises to myself to stop swearing. It took three children mimicking my words and about 10 years, but I've largely succeeded except for the occasional damn or hell.

And recently, I promised that I would not focus on politics since it raised my blood pressure and increased my frustration. I promised myself not to post on Facebook anything political. That lasted until the next debate or primary or funny/thought-provoking/amazingly stupid incident in this 'presidential -campaign- like- no- other- presidential- campaign'. #makedonalddrumpfagain
And can you believe that ...  See, I can't even write this paragraph about my pledge to NOT focus on politics without focusing on one of the frustrating aspects.

I am a work in progress. 

I'd like to write that I know my limitations, but clearly that's not true since I keep losing, then gaining the same 40 pounds. Work in progress, I am. Or that my political abstention can't last more than 10 minutes. Working. Progress. Or that while thinking about politics, in addition to raising my blood pressure and breaking that pledge, I'm breaking my 'no swearing' promise and mumbling mild expletives. So much work and so little progress!

So, instead of ending this on a note of defeat and because the glass is half full, I will end this blog post this way.

I wrote today!

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