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Making resolutions that are worth keeping

Tahoe Daily Tribune Staff Reports

Usually I take stock of my life at my birthday. I assess the last year and contemplate the upcoming year. But on that day in 2003 I was on a plane en route to a funeral. This left me taking stock of another person’s life.

So for the first time in years I am going to come up with New Year’s resolutions for myself. There are always the standard “eat better and get more exercise”.

With all the stories about obesity and the inherent health risks associated with being overweight, healthy eating is a wise choice for everyone. This can be difficult for someone who goes through drive-throughs just for fries. My doctor said sticks and twigs would be better for me because my dad had colon cancer. I am sure she is right, but that’s not a lot of fun.



With two-weeks worth of guests, I’ve been doing plenty of arm curls and shoveling – that fork-to-mouth exercise can be pretty tiring.

For years I have said I need to do more volunteer work. I wasn’t doing any, so I didn’t have to do much to improve upon my dismal contributions to society. My way of giving back had been to write checks to various organizations. Although I will keep doing this, it is much more gratifying to be involved.



As an officer of Core 24 Charities, it still amazes me our first fund-raising event in November – Tahoe Winter Expo – raised about $20,000. All of it will be doled back to the South Shore in some form. In a week we will start talking about Expo 2004 which will be Nov. 18.

Last year planning for the Expo at times felt more like an obligation because it was part of a year-end project for Leadership Lake Tahoe. Now I feel connected to something new and unique; where the people involved are gung-ho about enriching the lives of everyone on the South Shore – through the event and with checks to be written afterward.

One of the reasons I wanted to move back to Tahoe was to be in a small town, be surrounded by an outdoor playground, as well as live and work in the same town. I wanted to feel a part of something. I’m getting there.

In my quest to give back, I am putting nearly 16 years of journalism know-how to the test by teaching a writing class at Lake Tahoe Community College beginning this week.

Another resolution is to work on not needing to have the last word. A colleague recently turned me on to the philosophy: Is it better to be right or better to be happy? I’m going with the latter as a New Year’s resolution.

Another colleague has taught me about annual goal boards – where you cut phrases and pictures from magazines. They can range from the profound to the mundane. For example, I have pictures of Paris on my board because I plan to save this year for the 2005 French Open. But I also have the phrase “window blinds” on the board because I don’t have any and I know my neighbors would like me to.

These are some simple things to do. They may not be for everyone. Maybe it’s one of those things I’m realizing as I get older that if I don’t make hard and fast goals/resolutions for myself, I just end up talking about the same things each year at this time.

Happy New Year!

– Kathryn Reed is managing editor of the Tahoe Daily Tribune. She may be reached at kreed@tahoedailytribune.com or (530) 541-3880, ext. 251.


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