“Man plans, God laughs.”
~ Yiddish proverb
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I don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore. I gave up on trying to do that a long time ago. Instead, I focus on one word for the year– attempting to make my one word happen in all that I do during the year.
[I adopted this idea years ago after reading this blog post by Christine Kane.]
So, this year I chose the word SMOOTH as my one word of the year. SMOOTH. As in: calm; consistent; without harshness; having no rough edges. Lovely word. Wonderful concept.
But here’s my problem, 2011 is three-fourths over and I’m not getting anywhere with my word of the year. In fact, I think that I’m doing just about the complete opposite. Things are getting rougher, more problematic, and less consistent as this year drags on.
I thought that in 2011 I’d have the inside of the house finally put back together after our years of remodeling and painting. Hasn’t happened.
I thought that in 2011 our little backyard project [understatement of the year] would be finished in a timely fashion and that we’d be having fun out there by now. Hasn’t happened.
I thought that in 2011 I’d get back into blogging and feel more connected to the world at large again. Hasn’t happened.
Instead, I’ve experienced flux & difficult endings & weird people– lots of ’em. This would not be my definition of SMOOTH.
Fortunately, I’m good at going with the flow and adapting as needed. If I was uptight and took myself more seriously, I’d be in a heap of hurt right about now. But I’m not and I don’t.
I do have to wonder, though. If I say that for the rest of 2011 my one word is unSMOOTH, will God laugh and make my life SMOOTH? ‘Cause if that’s the trick to getting what I want this year, I will be a contrarian and do that. Just watch me.
unSMOOTH. unSMOOTH. unSMOOTH. 😉
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
We were excited to leave 2010 behind, until we got to this year and awful stuff still kept happening. My sayings are: Keep going. Hang on. One foot in front of the other. Enjoy what you can and deal with the rest. It gets tiresome though. Can’t I win the lottery or have something GREAT happen?? 🙂
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Margaret, I think that you deserve to win the lottery & have something great happen to you. You’ve been dealing with real problems these last few years. I’m just whining (and laughing) about major irritations. Big difference.
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For me, 2008 and 2009 were the unsmooth, horrible years. 2007 was stressful and frustrating, but they seemed like nothing compared to 2008 and 2009. Ugh. The nice thing is, that 2010 and 2011 have been much more manageable. So hang in there. Things may turn around any day now.
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I am familiar with the proverb (only I did not realize that it was Yiddish in origin) that you have included in this post, Ally, and, in fact I referred to it in an entry which I made on my blog this past September 1st. If you’d like to see what I had to say, please click on the following link:
http://thelastleafgardener.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-september-baccalaureate-journey.html
AS FAR AS New Year’s resolutions, I admire your endeavor to take on new words and your goal in “attempting to make my one word happen in all that I do during the year”. To me tat sounds like a resolution in disguise. However, this past January I did discuss my views on New Year’s resolutions and how they can be problematic. The link to that post can be found here:
http://thelastleafgardener.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-years-resolutions-2011-posting.html
Meanwhile, I am sorry to hear that your 2010 experiences have been difficult. I can only say that your having chosen the word, “smooth” only to find it “un-smooth” reminds me of my past endeavors to give up certain food, if I “promise” myself I will give up a particular food, I find that I am subsequently in social situations where it is being served on a more frequent basis than if I had not given up the food; so, I “give in”, and eat it then I try not to berate myself for not keeping my plan.
I have had difficult times too, Ally, but like yourself, I am “good at going with the flow and adapting as needed”. My last name, Youngquist, is Swedish, and it comes from a plant that can survive under any condition, hence, I too supposedly can do the same because of my name. I must confess that there have been many a time when I have been tired of putting my name to the test, and that I wish my my name translated into “smooth sailing”
All the Best with what lies ahead for you and yours.
Patricia Youngquist (the LLG)
PS Did you find the tomato culprit?
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J, I remember how difficult those years were for you. Like Margaret, you were dealing with real probs. My difficulties revolve around not being able to accomplish all our projects around the house because something else always gets in the way– every time. I research, decide and plan– and then, well…
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love your follow-up comments, Ally. sometimes, i get into my own head and things get a touch out of perspective. quite often, in fact. my biggest problem right now? finding the perfect house. what a lucky problem to have when people are actually losing their homes, and yet i tend to freak out. captain unsmooth, right here! 🙂
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tobe, you are so right about perspective. Like you I know that I’m lucky to be in the place where I am. Still, once in awhile when I can’t get my plans to work out, I get defeated and worn out by the whole process. I wrote this post on one of those days when all I felt like doing was banging my head against the top of the desk.
And about your new house… how cool is that? Can’t wait to see what you find.
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Patricia, I just found your comment. When you add links within a comment, the comment is held for moderation. I rarely check that part of my blog dashboard, so I didn’t see what you said until now. Hence, my delay in responding. In the future if you want your comment to go through on a timely basis, don’t add links.
And more to the point: how perfect is it that this happened on a post in which I talk about things not being smooth? Sometimes all I can do is laugh.
Flip city, eh?
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Thanks for your heads up, Ally, but I did not perceive anything as a “delay” and I was surprised by your “in the future” and “timely basis” remarks!
In my comments to various blogs, I often add references to what I may have said about a subject, or, I offer referrals to what others have said about it . Nobody has expressed your sentiment regarding links, and, in fact, they have welcomed them because it shows I have indeed read and considered the content.
When I studied writing in college, a professor who I admired at the time, often referred students (upon reading their work) to other things to read on a given topic. We all were grateful for that. Anyone can say “Nice work!”, but for a person to read, digest and suggest related materials takes time and effort.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
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Hi Patricia, I’m so glad to hear that you didn’t think I was ignoring you when I didn’t get back here to the comments within a day. I try to respond on a timely basis to everyone who stops by here.
Sorry if you thought that my explanation of how this comment system works was a request for you to not add links. Feel free to add all the links that you like. I have no problem with that. Just be aware that your comment will be posted in a delayed fashion.
And no need to apologize. You didn’t inconvenience me in the least. I was worried that I’d inconvenienced you! Funny how easily things get turned around when the only means of communication is with the written word. Seeing someone’s body language and hearing someone’s intonation makes communication so much easier, doesn’t it?
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