In general, I want to be a better person. That's really what my goals are all about. They are not monumental but they are not easy. Things will happen this year that will get in the way of my goals. So I ask anyone reading this to help me reach them. Keep me straight and moving forward.
16 years of marriage. Sometimes I sit back and am amazed we’ve been together this long. I only say that because we have never done anything consistently for 16 years. That will be true for 17, 18,19,20. Marriage will be the longest thing I ever stay consistently involved in my entire life. Yes, you could argue that being a son is longer but that’s not so true. After all no matter how it worked there was a finite time of living under the same roof. The point is a constant work to get better has to be here or it will fall flat. So with this I tell you that Mary and I don’t spend enough time alone together. We spend a great deal of time alone, and we are great with Marco. My goal is to create Mary-Dave time Daily-Weekly and Quarterly. Daily will be minutes. Weekly we will do something together without Marco. This includes sitting on the Beach, going to the Book Store, going for a glass of wine or actually going on a date. Quarterly we will go away. Just the two of us. No dog, no Marco, no computers.
Marco will turn 12 in the next year. Time is short when doing things with Dad is cool. I can accept it, because friends are more important when Junior High starts. I get that. So Marco and I will have to work harder and being alone together. I’m going to find one day a month that is Marco day. Just he and I going on adventures together. We always have fun when we do it. The goal is to regularly introduce ourselves to something new.
In general I find money to be a bore. I don’t work for money. I never have and I never will. Unfortunately, our lifestyle and our future depends on making and saving money. We did great over the last 15 years doing both. This year I took a pay cut so I could live and work in California. I’m fine with the less income but it is putting a crunch on the saving part of Money. So my goal by the end of this year is to increase my income by 30%. That’s a super lofty goal but it doesn’t even come close to the average over the last 15 years. So I don’t find it all to bold. Most if not all of that 30% will go right to savings for the future.
My Mom is in a much better place today than she was a year ago. My sister Cyndi deserves all the credit for the effort it has taken. Today my mom has a professional companion and care agency visiting her 3 times/week. But Mom still needs interaction from me. She will receive weekly contact from me (written form because she struggles on the phone) and 3 visits in the next year. The best day I had with Mom this year was a simple lunch trip to the Peoria Courthouse courtyard. We had lunch, a good chat and listened to some great music. She lives a ways away but it’s doable and a must.
My racing goals really have nothing to do with competition. The older I get the more I realize this. I love competition and I love being able to go fast but my racing goals are more about my feeling of wholeness. In setting my goal for 2009 it was to win my age group. This caused me hire a coach to get organized. The end result was a few really good races, and 2nd place in the age group but more importantly a consistency I hadn’t had. I lost weight, I looked better and I felt better day after day. 2010 will be a bit different. With all the travel I do I find I can’t be picky any longer. I can’t plan races way out in advance only to let travel ruin the plan as well as lose money doing it. Where I raced 4 times in 2009 but lost two to travel, I will race 12 times in 2010. A race to me is anything where I pay and try to go as hard as I can. Triathlon, Running, Paddleboarding, anything. The end result will be a stronger, happier me.
Me
I simply want to laugh every day. That's my goal. If I can do that life around me has got to be great.
It's a good life.....
Dave
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