There’s so much made about New Year’s resolutions this time of the year. Whether you make them or not, you can’t escape hearing about them, either from friends or family members who have joined the movement or those radio and TV commercials focusing on slashed costs for gym memberships to start the year off on the right foot.

If I thought I could stick to them, it’s likely I would try a few resolutions myself.

But for me, it’s more of an opportunity to reflect and reset. If I don’t put the label of resolution on it, maybe it will work. Perhaps I can trick myself into believing it’s not really a resolution, just a helpful suggestion.

So, what would my helpful suggestions for myself be? As per usual, better organization would be at the top of the list. I have even thought about this one to the point that I think one of my office walls this year will feature a big monthly calendar that you can write on/wipe off so I can keep better track of the weekly flow of stories and photos for our three newspapers.

My past attempts at organization have fallen far short of the mark and some days, that makes me feel as if I am barely keeping my head above water, treading madly while trying to get everything done.

The fact that this time, there is a bit of a plan, as small a step as it may be to put up a calendar, gives me hope that it could work.

There’s also the need to get back to my daily walks with the dog; we both have gotten much too lazy this winter. Bella is getting older (and let’s face it, so am I) and it would do us both a world of good to energize ourselves each morning by greeting the day with a brisk walk. The downside of that would be the cold/foggy/rainy weather right now but we owe it to each other to get back on track. She loved the route we would take; lots of spots to sniff and other dogs to look at through front windows or through holes in the fence. Gave her something to bark at and the barriers between Bella and the other dogs seemed to make her feel bigger than her Maltese size.

Of course, more rest would be a smart thing but there isn’t a whole lot of time for that. The other night, I actually changed the alarm from the normal 6 a.m. wake up time to 7 a.m. and slept until the alarm went off, then stayed in bed another full half hour; such a luxury. Maybe quality rest would be more of an attainable goal than quantity, though. I do enjoy settling in with a good book at the end of the day to relax and unwind and I usually read until it falls and hits me in the face. If I put the book away and turned out the light a few minutes sooner, those minutes could add up to another couple of hours of sleep over the course of a week. Definitely worth a try, and I wouldn’t get a headache from that falling book.

Those are just a few of the suggestions I have made for myself; we’ll see how it goes now that the calendar has turned to 2024.

My ‘to do’ list also includes the most important thing: continuing to be the best Mimi I can for my granddaughter Lorelei, who incredibly will be two years old in less than two weeks. If anything, the fact that these two years have passed in the blink of an eye make it all the more important to be present in the moment. I look forward to sharing lots of adventures – be it a special trip to the zoo or simply drawing with sidewalk chalk – with her in the days to come.

And whatever is on your resolution/suggestion list, here’s hoping you stick to it.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.