#52 Stories of ME! (week one)

I recently reread about Family Search's initiative last year to write your own story in 52 short chapters, one each week, using as a guide the 52 questions they published about a variety of topics.

During the 10 years I wrote the Nichols Family News for my kids, I included a lot of personal history in short little vignettes.  When I first moved to Johnstown, I was still on straight Reserve with United and during a period of 13 months had NO scheduled Sundays off.  I attended Church wherever I could on a layover, but to attend my own Johnstown Ward just didn't happen.  So Bishop Hull called me to be a Family History Specialist with the directive to spend some time each week writing my own personal history.  

I didn't like the idea of starting out, "I, Georgia Carol Huggins Nichols-Bateman, was born Sunday, December 2, 1945, at 1:16 a.m. at Carbon County Memorial Hospital in Rawlins, Wyoming."  

Nah!  That sounded BORING, so I decided to write about stuff like "Cars I Had Known", "Making Sunday the Best Day of the Week", "The Days of Her Life...a Modern Soap Opera in Three Acts", "Tickling the Ivories".  You get the picture.  

But I did know that there were lots of other chapters in my life that had never been tapped.  Maybe interesting.  Maybe not.  When I saw this initiative repeated as we were poised ready to launch into 2018, I decided I would take the challenge.  

WEEK ONE:   WHAT GOALS DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE THIS YEAR?

Best to start out with what goals I am NOT going to achieve this year. 

Starting with retirement. 

I submitted my retirement papers November 30, 2017, as United has a six-month notice requirement before leaving as a retiree.  The official day of my retirement was noted at June 1, 2018.

I had plans to have a huge garage sale--or one of those online dealies people can do now to sell their stuff.

I wanted to go through all the recipes and THROW OUT about 99% of them, reserving only those that we actually used.  Then I was planning to make a simple cookbook of about thirty dishes the family liked when they were growing up.

I thought about going through the picture box, and at least organizing pictures from each family into a box of their own.  Additional plans called for me to see about transferring all of Ross' slides to a video format.  All the info which would identify them now is GONZO, but I think the family might like to just peruse the pictures--especially of themselves at home and abroad.

There was a way-out idea I had to maybe spend some time visiting my children in such faraway places as Cincinnati, Portland, Payson, and yes, even Commerce City and Brighton.  I even thought maybe I could squeeze in a visit to some of my extended family or maybe even go see Rosalie Hall in Farmington, Utah.

And spend some time in  the drawers and cupboards:  all the way from the junk drawer to the little spaces under the bathroom cabinets which have all collected their own detritus. 

Compiling a second volume of my Visiting Teachers letters was also on the list.

Silly me!  

I kept bugging Louis, asking for his input and opinion before I submitted the retirement papers. He told me I could do what I wanted about retiring, I could retire any time I wanted. In fact he asked me why I had waited when I had said for so long I was going to retire a couple of years ago.  So, I went ahead and grabbed that freedom ring by clicking SUBMIT.

Alas....none of that was meant to be. I was finally able to pin Louis down, and we had the family council together which should have happened months ago.  It revealed that there was NO WAY I could retire and still keep this ship afloat.  The new job he took last summer in Greeley seemed like the answer to that question that's been on my mind for the last three years--RETIREMENT?  HIs new job was less yearly salary, but there was a $15,000 bonus as incentive providing the company did well.  Also, he was going to continue to drive for LYFT every evening for a couple of hours after work and on Saturdays.  And there would be my Social Security.  All combined would have made retirement doable.

When the hotel actually opened in September, life for him turned upside down.  He has put in 12-15 hour days, gone back in the evening after coming home, spent Saturdays and parts of Sundays there--and STILL didn't realize the bonus, or a raise, at the end of the year.  Also, no time to go drive.  He hasn't done LYFT for the last three or four months.  

So, instead of retiring and doing any of the above aforementioned activities in 2018, I will be flying around the Friendly Skies, dreading my yearly requalification in September--just like always--and battling with the traveling public.  

Then I did an attitude adjustment after taking stock of my blessings. I decided I have more than 95+% of the world.  And, I would rather continue to fly for $65/hour than find out I needed to take a supplemental job after retirement for minimum wage doing something like greeter at WalMart or lunch crowd at McDonald's.  I'll take United, thank you!

So....I went back to the drawing board.

Here are the goals I hope to achieve this year:

•    more conscious effort to emulate Christ ---walk the walk, talk the talk ALWAYS
•    continued good health to keep me active and strong to do my job
•    get through that pesky REQUAL without too much fear and trepidation
•    be able to see my family once in a while
•    Sundays off as often possible so I can do my calling
•    keep myself productive with small accomplishments along the way
•    continue my personal ministry
•    magnify each of my callings better
•    find joy in the journey
•    greater gratitude for the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life
•    learn more about the Old Testament

 Actually, not one of these goals is new except maybe the Old Testament one.  The others already have a foundation in my life.  My goal is to rachet myself up a step or two from where I am now.

And by  just doing that much should make 2018 "A Very Good Year!"