“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail.”

I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but this year I started out with a general theme of simplification.  My goal was to pare down most aspects of my life.  Clear my schedule, my house, my mind, my focus, my body, all of it.  Get rid of the excess that cluttered my literal, emotional, mental pathways and concentrate on the things I really care about and that ultimately feel the most rewarding: the dinners around the table, the time to think about some idea that has grabbed me, the comfortable and informal gatherings of friends and community.

So, you know, I decided to paint the hallways, redecorate the basement, plow through the extensive “must read” list I created, start cooking the kinds of meals I used to cook, ebay a bunch of crap in the attic, clean out my closets, refinance the mortgage, plan two vacations, train for a half-marathon, dive into a jump-start-the-creative-mind project…and then break a thumb, throw out my back, have a kid with strep, a kid with a stomach virus, and catch the Cold of the Century.

Oops.

I dusted of my “No, thanks,” and “Sorry, can’t do it” and put them back into regular rotation this past week.  I’m sticking with the reading and some of the cooking, and I have to finish painting the hallway because it’s almost finished except for one wall and that would just look weird.  Otherwise, no, thanks, and sorry, can’t do it.

But I’d love to talk to you about the books I’m reading, and you are always welcome for spaghetti.