2024 Batting Average

 

It fluctuates somewhere around .800 and .850.

 

Not bad.

 

This has nothing to do with baseball, by the way. It has everything to do with New Year’s resolutions.

 

Now, I love the idea of setting New Year’s resolutions. Not so much practicing them, though. Usually, if I’m lucky and dedicated enough, my resolution will last past the first weekend of the New Year. Maybe a whole week, week-and-a-half. Then, poof, it vanishes into the ether from whence it came.

 

Not so with 2024’s batch. In fact, I’ve had so much success I’ve been hesitant about tooting my own horn for fear of jinxing myself. But since I don’t believe in jinxes and such, I’m here to tout my resolutionary success in these electronic pages.

 

I made four resolutions on December 31st, after ruminating on them for some time. Two dealt with my physical health, one a stubborn habit I’ve had for a long, long time that I feel is time to go, and a third is a spiritual discipline I’ve been interested in and now have taken up.

 

These last two, the stubborn habit and the spiritual discipline, I am keeping under wraps for the time being. But I have been taking daily actions, daily practice, and so far I am batting one thousand on these two important-to-me issues.

 

The second two I’ll publicize.

 

First, everyone’s favorite New Years resolution (after going to the gym but in the same vein) – lose the excess weight.

 

I’ve been 25 pounds over my ideal weight for at least a decade, maybe longer. Sure, I can lose five pounds with effort, but then I gain it back a few weeks later. Eighteen months ago I lost ten pounds for my awesome doctor down here in Texas, kept it off for a month, and gradually put it all back on.

 

As of this morning I am minus-7 from my January 1 weight. And really just by cutting back on seconds, portion-size, and grazing. Still eating the same stuff, but less of it and less frequently. Three pounds a month. Not bad. At this rate I’ll hit my goal around Labor Day.

 

The second “physical health” resolution I came up with was – to give up soda. And I have! One thousand percent batting on this issue. In the past I’d average 1½ or 2 sodas a day. A dozen sodas a week, something like 650 eight-ounce cans of Diet Coke and Diet Dr Pepper a year. After reading so much bad about soda consumption over the years, I’ve finally stopped. Haven’t had a can or bottle in nearly ten weeks.

 

So I’m batting .850 regarding my 2024 New Years resolutions. Some points off for cheating and zig-zagging on my weight loss promise, but otherwise perfect with the other three.

 

Pray for me!!!