Happy 2012! There are many ways to approach the question of New Years Resolutions, and I think I have dabbled in most--setting ten million very specific unrealistic resolutions that don't actually reflect my true priorities, setting NO resolutions because what's the point, setting one or two words/themes for the year....
This year I'm going with a handful of (relatively) concrete resolutions and a few additional bonus goals--the New Years' equivalent of extra credit, if you will. I've thought about these a lot, and the concrete goals are daily/near daily habits I think I can realistically DO, even on crazy weeks (such as THIS one, in which I'm working nights, sleeping little, and tottering on the edge of feeling like crap vs feeling great all the time due to a poor inability to alter my circadian rhythm, etc etc etc....). They're also resolutions which I think are fairly "evidence-based", so to speak, and tailored to both relieve stress/anxiety and to achieve maximal return on investment of time and energy.
So, without further ado:
2012 Resolutions:
1. Spend >15 minutes outside most days with the kids. I think this is right up there with having family dinner on the list of really great habits. And since we now live in a town where apparently daffodils are brave enough to poke their heads out in early January, I think I'm brave enough to poke my head out most days as well.
2. Run 30 minutes at least 3 times a week. 5-6 times a week would probably be better, but I wouldn't actually do it. This I think I can do. There is a tremendous amount of evidence as well that regular exercise makes a huge difference in preventing everything from depression and fatigue in the short run to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the long run. So that's the goal. I figure I should probably practice what I preach in clinic.
3. Be patient and forgiving of myself and others. Not my forte historically, but I can do this.
4. Read up to date, prep questions, or another basic medical resource for at least 30 minutes a work-day. This one I'm probably already doing, so much of the point here is to give myself a minimum amount of reading to be *satisfied* with. So if I read for 30 minutes, I won't get after myself thinking "I should read more". I am convinced this feeling of always thinking I should be doing MORE is one of the most toxic lines of thought I slip into in my daily life, and I'm really trying to shed it at this point. Again, see number 3 above. I'm doing a lot of things right. So are other people. The more time passes, the more I'm convinced maybe I DON'T need to be doing more of everything. I've got some things I do as a parent almost every day, and some things I do rarely. Same with work. And this is where I think having a few concrete goals can be useful, because it opens up some space to feel happy and satisfied without feeling the need to do more. I *could* feel guilty all the time because as a resident I work a lot and don't spend as much time with my kids as many. OR, I could feel great if I stick to a few consistent habits most days (my list: read to the kids most days, spend time playing outside most days per resolution #1 above, make dinner and eat together as a family most days, practice the piano with Naomi most days....you get the idea).
One of my favorite reads recently is a book by Peter Reynolds (one of my favorite children's authors) called "So Few Of Me". The book is about a very busy kid named Leo, who feels so inadequate at getting everything done that he'd like himself to do each day that he feels the need to actually create more replications of himself. Of course the more Leo's there are, the more work Leo finds for said Leo's to do. He works himself into a frenzy of anxiety over DOING DOING DOING until he finally collapses with exhaustion and has....a sweet dream. The other Leo's reprimand him at first, but as he has the epiphany that perhaps he'd be ok to just do less...and do his best, the other Leos all disappear. And we are left with "just me, just one, with time to dream".
How beautiful. So that's the goal beneath the goals, the motivation so to speak.
Can I do it as an intern with two small (ok, ok, BIG) kids? I think so.
In fact, I am not going to actually post my bonus goals for the year, because if I do them, great, but if I don't (and they are not many in number, or difficult in nature....one is simply to keep my car from becoming a hazardous war zone without space for at least one other adult to sit without jamming their knees in their eyes; another is to consider blogging more frequently than, oh, every 6 months or so)....no biggie. I'm not pulling out the extra Leo's, so to speak. 2012 will be a year to relax and enjoy, and maybe give myself (and others) a few pats on the back.
Just me, just one, with time to dream....
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Thursday, July 07, 2011
And now for the Nati....
And now for some things that I love about our new home....
10. Walking everywhere....almost. Ok, so I drive to work, church, and the grocery store. But on a daily basis, other than that everywhere we go is within about a mile or so. For instance, on Tuesday afternoons/evenings, we walk or bike to the farmer's market half a mile away (where we get pizza and gelato to eat at the village square), then walk to the corner for Naomi's piano lessons and walk or scooter home. On Wednesdays, we walk to the same village square for free summer concerts. Once a week we walk/scooter to the library. Also within walking/jogging/biking distance on quiet streets: the rec center and pool, l7 or 8 really nice playgrounds, virtually any city events (eg, fireworks and parade of the 4th of July), Naomi and Sage's schools for this upcoming year, the Fine Arts Center (where the girls can take music or dance classes), our family physician, dentist, bike shop, bakery, meat shop, brunch place, diner, etc....
9. Our house. It is very warm and "homelike" and I really, really love it.
8. The simplicity of going to school. Almost everyone sends their kids to the local public school. You are guarranteed a spot. Siblings go to the same school. There is no tracking in elementary school. There is only one class per grade. Everyone walks.
There are only 3 preschools in town; all three are half a mile away, dirt cheap, seemingly great, and have open spots. (!!!!!!)
7. Cheap good food (Trader Joe's, Kroger), cheap stuff for kids, cheap IKEA nearby, cheap mortgage...you get the idea.
6. Really old homes and correspondingly really old trees. Fireflies and sleeping to the sounds of passing trains at night. Rosebushes. The little things.
5. CCHMC and my fantastic co-interns :)
4. Cool places to go outdoors: Winton Woods, the Loveland Biketrail, Riverbanks (a cool outdoor concert place on the river), the Cincinnati Zoo...
3. Corn hole, roller derby, country music and the "Cincinnati drawl". :)
2. Downtown. There is still a city here, with "city stuff"--places to eat, wander, etc. Haven't checked out many of the museums yet, but the Contemporary Arts Center is pretty cool, and certainly others exist. Last but not least...
1. The sense of community. We've lived here a month and know almost everyone on our street, from the little kids to teenagers and retired couples we ask for landscaping and yard upkeep advice. When we moved in, several people at the farmer's market knew which house we moved into based on the family we bought it from. It may be smothering in the long run, but for now it's a nice change from NY, and we like it!
10. Walking everywhere....almost. Ok, so I drive to work, church, and the grocery store. But on a daily basis, other than that everywhere we go is within about a mile or so. For instance, on Tuesday afternoons/evenings, we walk or bike to the farmer's market half a mile away (where we get pizza and gelato to eat at the village square), then walk to the corner for Naomi's piano lessons and walk or scooter home. On Wednesdays, we walk to the same village square for free summer concerts. Once a week we walk/scooter to the library. Also within walking/jogging/biking distance on quiet streets: the rec center and pool, l7 or 8 really nice playgrounds, virtually any city events (eg, fireworks and parade of the 4th of July), Naomi and Sage's schools for this upcoming year, the Fine Arts Center (where the girls can take music or dance classes), our family physician, dentist, bike shop, bakery, meat shop, brunch place, diner, etc....
9. Our house. It is very warm and "homelike" and I really, really love it.
8. The simplicity of going to school. Almost everyone sends their kids to the local public school. You are guarranteed a spot. Siblings go to the same school. There is no tracking in elementary school. There is only one class per grade. Everyone walks.
There are only 3 preschools in town; all three are half a mile away, dirt cheap, seemingly great, and have open spots. (!!!!!!)
7. Cheap good food (Trader Joe's, Kroger), cheap stuff for kids, cheap IKEA nearby, cheap mortgage...you get the idea.
6. Really old homes and correspondingly really old trees. Fireflies and sleeping to the sounds of passing trains at night. Rosebushes. The little things.
5. CCHMC and my fantastic co-interns :)
4. Cool places to go outdoors: Winton Woods, the Loveland Biketrail, Riverbanks (a cool outdoor concert place on the river), the Cincinnati Zoo...
3. Corn hole, roller derby, country music and the "Cincinnati drawl". :)
2. Downtown. There is still a city here, with "city stuff"--places to eat, wander, etc. Haven't checked out many of the museums yet, but the Contemporary Arts Center is pretty cool, and certainly others exist. Last but not least...
1. The sense of community. We've lived here a month and know almost everyone on our street, from the little kids to teenagers and retired couples we ask for landscaping and yard upkeep advice. When we moved in, several people at the farmer's market knew which house we moved into based on the family we bought it from. It may be smothering in the long run, but for now it's a nice change from NY, and we like it!
One more thing I will miss about NYC....
The tulips in Spring:
ps--it takes me a really long time to upload things onto blogger. Am I doing something wrong?
ps--it takes me a really long time to upload things onto blogger. Am I doing something wrong?
Friday, June 17, 2011
Top 50 things I will miss about NYC....
Why hello again! We have had a lot of big changes around here recently, with a few more upcoming in the next few months or so. The biggest--or at least most relevant to all of us--has been a big fat move from NY to Cincinnati, OH. I'll talk about Cincinnati in my next post (I love it), but for now I would like to just write a little bit about NY by way of goodbyes.
NY is a funny place, and it has played an important part in my life, both as a kid and as an adult (I lived in Manhattan for 4 years during elementary school, and then for 7 more years after college). Now's not the time to try to explain exactly what that part has meant to me, but suffice it to say, the city is irreplaceable in my book. It has always been there for me when I've needed it, and while it has made life harder in some ways, I will forever remain in its debt.
So anyway. Rather than ramble on, I wanted to write a list of the top 50 or 100 things I will miss about NY now that I live in my new quirky semi-midwestern semi-southern home of the Nati! Without further ado....
50. Walking everywhere.
49. Renting. Sure, it's nice to own your own place. But there's also something nice about recognizing that you don't actually have to, ever. Not to mention the niceness of not having to ever worry about anything that breaks!
48. The food. We were regulars of a few places (Emack & Bolios, Shake Shack), but I also really liked trying out random new places. The swedish restaurant we tried during restaurant week, the macaroon place downtown I discovered with my family during graduation, the really good sushi place in midtown, the myriad surprisingly expensive/dumpy/delicious restaurants surrounding Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. I don't even remember the names of these places, but I liked having so many choices.
And now, since I am growing lazier by the minute....an abreviated version of #1-47 sans pictures or explanation....
47. Biking in Central Park, across the brooklyn bridge, etc.
46. Attempting to grow a garden on our balcony (and failing, thanks to the brutality of >90hour surgical work weeks)
45. Sunset schooners around the tip of the island
44. Sledding in the streets
43. Living in a 17 story "house" and virtually NEVER locking our door in four years of medical school.
42. Curbside recycling (aka, finding furniture on the street, and taking it home). **Word to the wise: make sure the furniture is actually being thrown away. It is embarrassing to be stopped by the owner of a table one has decided to walk off with down the street...
41. The Playgrounds (sorry, Wyoming....NYC has you beat a bit on this front).
40. The crazy people who sit near you in the restaurant while you are trying to keep track of two hyperactive kids, and proceed to tell you their entire life story as though you were nothing but the best of friends.
39. The nooks. You know--the hidden peaceful oases you happen upon in your travels in the unlikeliest of places.
38. Play by Play!! ($4 tickets to horrible comedy and awe-inspiring broadway alike, baby!)
37. The Natural History Museum, Met, MOMA, Jewish Museum, Children's Museum of the Arts, New York Hall of Science, Guggenheim, El Museo del Barrio, Children's Museum of Manhattan, etc, etc, etc...
36. Parades. From Macy's immaculate Thanksgiving Day Parade on the upper west side to the deafening Carribbean Parade in Prospect Park.
35. The subway! Superb for people-watching and the occasional talented musician.
34. The brutal honesty.
33. the Little Orchestra Society's Lollipops Concerts for little kids...and other like-minded high-brow arts for low-brow little kids.
32. The beautiful people. There are a lot of them on the upper east side, and I confess to admiring.
31. The babified dogs.
30. The 92nd street Y and its discounts for "Under 35-year old" 'kids'. :)
29. The creative use of space.
28. Victoria Gardens. Best little kid amusement park ever.
27. Fountains
26. Carl Schurz
25. The incredibly rich, endless, inspirational history.
24. The partial solitude of 3 am.
23. East Harlem community gardens and murals.
22. The triborough bridge (especially at sunrise, as viewed from our apartment or, at times, the hospital walkways).
21. The endless neighborhoods.
20. The sky.
19. The grit (public toilets, subway rats, apartment mice and the occasional cockroach the size of an index finger).
18. Free concerts in the park during summer
17. The tremendous diversity.
16. The smell of ambition
15. Weekend get-aways to upstate NY
14. The millions of books--for all ages--that take place in NY
13. Street fairs and carnivals
12. Flying kites in small spaces
11. Mount Sinai School of Medicine. :)
10. Riverside Park
9. Columbia's Undergrad campus and Morningside Heights in general
8. Close friends. :-(
7. Fresh Direct
6. Walking home from Times Square on a beautiful night
5. Walking anywhere through Central Park
4. Sleeping to the sounds of the city at night
3. Meeting people from all over the world
2. Feeling that anything is possible
1. Building a family from scratch in a lovely, crazy, hectic, kind, brutal, wonderful place that has shaped us in ways both good and bad. Living in NY, I have always felt a strong sense of impermanence, being in motion, in flux. Cincinnati (and especially the small town outside of Cincinnati that we've moved to) has so far inspired the opposite emotion. It is nice to feel grounded now, and oddly permanent after 2 weeks in a way that I did not feel after 11 lifetime years spent in Manhattan. But I will miss NY dearly, and love it forever. Goodbye, city.....
NY is a funny place, and it has played an important part in my life, both as a kid and as an adult (I lived in Manhattan for 4 years during elementary school, and then for 7 more years after college). Now's not the time to try to explain exactly what that part has meant to me, but suffice it to say, the city is irreplaceable in my book. It has always been there for me when I've needed it, and while it has made life harder in some ways, I will forever remain in its debt.
So anyway. Rather than ramble on, I wanted to write a list of the top 50 or 100 things I will miss about NY now that I live in my new quirky semi-midwestern semi-southern home of the Nati! Without further ado....
50. Walking everywhere.
49. Renting. Sure, it's nice to own your own place. But there's also something nice about recognizing that you don't actually have to, ever. Not to mention the niceness of not having to ever worry about anything that breaks!
48. The food. We were regulars of a few places (Emack & Bolios, Shake Shack), but I also really liked trying out random new places. The swedish restaurant we tried during restaurant week, the macaroon place downtown I discovered with my family during graduation, the really good sushi place in midtown, the myriad surprisingly expensive/dumpy/delicious restaurants surrounding Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. I don't even remember the names of these places, but I liked having so many choices.
And now, since I am growing lazier by the minute....an abreviated version of #1-47 sans pictures or explanation....
47. Biking in Central Park, across the brooklyn bridge, etc.
46. Attempting to grow a garden on our balcony (and failing, thanks to the brutality of >90hour surgical work weeks)
45. Sunset schooners around the tip of the island
44. Sledding in the streets
43. Living in a 17 story "house" and virtually NEVER locking our door in four years of medical school.
42. Curbside recycling (aka, finding furniture on the street, and taking it home). **Word to the wise: make sure the furniture is actually being thrown away. It is embarrassing to be stopped by the owner of a table one has decided to walk off with down the street...
41. The Playgrounds (sorry, Wyoming....NYC has you beat a bit on this front).
40. The crazy people who sit near you in the restaurant while you are trying to keep track of two hyperactive kids, and proceed to tell you their entire life story as though you were nothing but the best of friends.
39. The nooks. You know--the hidden peaceful oases you happen upon in your travels in the unlikeliest of places.
38. Play by Play!! ($4 tickets to horrible comedy and awe-inspiring broadway alike, baby!)
37. The Natural History Museum, Met, MOMA, Jewish Museum, Children's Museum of the Arts, New York Hall of Science, Guggenheim, El Museo del Barrio, Children's Museum of Manhattan, etc, etc, etc...
36. Parades. From Macy's immaculate Thanksgiving Day Parade on the upper west side to the deafening Carribbean Parade in Prospect Park.
35. The subway! Superb for people-watching and the occasional talented musician.
34. The brutal honesty.
33. the Little Orchestra Society's Lollipops Concerts for little kids...and other like-minded high-brow arts for low-brow little kids.
32. The beautiful people. There are a lot of them on the upper east side, and I confess to admiring.
31. The babified dogs.
30. The 92nd street Y and its discounts for "Under 35-year old" 'kids'. :)
29. The creative use of space.
28. Victoria Gardens. Best little kid amusement park ever.
27. Fountains
26. Carl Schurz
25. The incredibly rich, endless, inspirational history.
24. The partial solitude of 3 am.
23. East Harlem community gardens and murals.
22. The triborough bridge (especially at sunrise, as viewed from our apartment or, at times, the hospital walkways).
21. The endless neighborhoods.
20. The sky.
19. The grit (public toilets, subway rats, apartment mice and the occasional cockroach the size of an index finger).
18. Free concerts in the park during summer
17. The tremendous diversity.
16. The smell of ambition
15. Weekend get-aways to upstate NY
14. The millions of books--for all ages--that take place in NY
13. Street fairs and carnivals
12. Flying kites in small spaces
11. Mount Sinai School of Medicine. :)
10. Riverside Park
9. Columbia's Undergrad campus and Morningside Heights in general
8. Close friends. :-(
7. Fresh Direct
6. Walking home from Times Square on a beautiful night
5. Walking anywhere through Central Park
4. Sleeping to the sounds of the city at night
3. Meeting people from all over the world
2. Feeling that anything is possible
1. Building a family from scratch in a lovely, crazy, hectic, kind, brutal, wonderful place that has shaped us in ways both good and bad. Living in NY, I have always felt a strong sense of impermanence, being in motion, in flux. Cincinnati (and especially the small town outside of Cincinnati that we've moved to) has so far inspired the opposite emotion. It is nice to feel grounded now, and oddly permanent after 2 weeks in a way that I did not feel after 11 lifetime years spent in Manhattan. But I will miss NY dearly, and love it forever. Goodbye, city.....
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Christmas Vacation 2010-2011
The first of several posts. I've been putting this off, but now have no excuse. So, without further ado, we will start with: Naomi skiing at the Cabin.
Sledding! (Don't worry, we have pictures of Sage too)
Cabin tree!
The first of many pictures of people playing games!
Sledding! (Don't worry, we have pictures of Sage too)
Cabin tree!
The first of many pictures of people playing games!
Just a few more pictures of Naomi at her beloved school. I've been so happy with this school in almost every way (the one exception being that I feel disconnected from other parents....in part because parents don't actually enter the school, there is no class list, events, etc). Socially, it has been fantastic. Naomi feels she has tons of friends, and the closest thing to "friend drama" we've run into is the occasional temporary (never more than a day) fall-out with a couple of her best friends. Academically I think they are doing great things with these kids, and I cannot begin to express how much I love having a uniform. Anyway, really: don't these kids look so cute?! (The nose-picking is classic)
Sunset schooner
This is from last summer (our anniversary). We have gone on one of these sunset sails 3 times while living here, and it is truly one of my favorite ways to spend a nice cool summer evening!
I will never grow tired of this beautiful inspiration....
Out in the harbor...
Prior to take-off. I am wearing a shirt here recycled from when I was 15. A "hand-me-back" shall we say? :)
I will never grow tired of this beautiful inspiration....
Out in the harbor...
Prior to take-off. I am wearing a shirt here recycled from when I was 15. A "hand-me-back" shall we say? :)
More pictures from the fall
I know it is lame to just post pictures with no stories, BUT...since only immediate family read this blog, that is how it is going to be for now! Somehow I cannot find very many pictures of the fall leaves this past year...which is unfortunate since fall is such a spectacular time here in the city (and everywhere, I know). Oh well!
This is northern Central Park on a gorgeous day around 8:30am. Before 9am, dogs run free in the park, which makes it fun for both the dogs and kids who like to watch dogs. This part of Central Park is great in that even on a gorgeous day, it is *frequently* virtually empty. I'm not sure why, but it's very nice and peaceful to have such a beautiful open area almost entirely to oneself!
This is northern Central Park on a gorgeous day around 8:30am. Before 9am, dogs run free in the park, which makes it fun for both the dogs and kids who like to watch dogs. This part of Central Park is great in that even on a gorgeous day, it is *frequently* virtually empty. I'm not sure why, but it's very nice and peaceful to have such a beautiful open area almost entirely to oneself!
Bikeride to Queens
Did you know there are bike paths all the way from our apt in Manhattan into Queens via a small walking bridge followed by the Triborough? Neither did we until we tried it one day. While I'm glad we checked it out, I would NOT recommend biking the Triborough in general. The bike trail was very close to the cars and the rails separating bridge from water were kinda low....we were very nervous!
Monday, April 04, 2011
Other miscellaneous fall
Some pictures from Naomi's birthday party this past fall....I did not do a good job photographing this event.
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