In 2012 I signed up with the photo-a-day club.  I quickly discovered that it while it worked great for digital photographers, it didn't quite work for a filmie like me.  I fudged the rules to say I would post every day, but not until I had first taken a photograph with whatever camera happened to have film loaded in it.  That worked reasonably well.

In 2013 I switched to "photography every day".  I posted every day, but didn't take photos just for the sake of fulfilling a daily quota.  That worked better.

Now I'm thinking about 2014, taking stock of where I am and where I want to go.  Life has been very crazy the past few months.  I got sick with a nasty UTI, my Dad died, we visited Corky's sister, whose quiescent pancreatic cancer is finally catching up with her.  I have been overtired, and not overly happy with my photography.  I've gotten some shots I really like and a lot in the good-but-not-great category.  The mantra pounding itself into my head has been, "Slow down, take your time, think about what you're doing."  Meanwhile, the body has been telling me that I have not been outside nearly enough and that I have been staying up too late doing this and that and not much of anything.  And I have not been the most reliable church choir member this season.

Then there is the matter of retirement.  While I'm not planning on retiring any time soon, it is time to be thinking about the patterns and activities I want to carry forward when I no longer have the constraint of a full work week.

What matters?  Where do I want to focus my time and energy?  Here's a start, not necessarily in order nor complete.  Some items are primary, others are enablers.
  • Jesus and my place in his family
  • Corky, my wife of 41 years
  • Our extended family
  • The people around us
  • Social justice
  • Photography and the artistic community
  • Making music
  • Reading books
  • Reflecting and writing
  • Taking care of the house
  • Getting outside on foot and on the water
  • Adirondack Mountain Club
  • Keeping myself in good health and repair
  • Staying employed
  • Paying down short term debt.

With those in mind, I've been thinking about what collection of activities I want to pursue in 2014.  This isn't exhaustive, but you get the idea.
  • Continue my annual morning tour through the Bible with the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan.
  • Continue with Lauds and Compline every day.
  • Do at least one pushup, situp, and dumbbell curl every weekday morning.  (The rest come much easier.)
  • Do photography every day; drop the posting every day.  Be more selective about what I post.
  • Walk every day.  A lap around the inside perimeter of the building will suffice, but do at least that.
  • Saturday night date night.
  • Take Robert out for photography on Sunday afternoons.
  • Wednesday night church choir.
  • Continue with the ADK Outdoor Expo planning committee; look for something different to do after June.
  • Write one blog entry every week for the simple discipline of writing something coherent.
  • Read one book each month.  (My mom's book club years ago was MALIRAB, "Monthly, at least, I read a book.")
  • Read Sojourners Magazine each month.
  • Do the Thursday evening paddles when they start up.  (I'll think about the paddle-year-round project next Autumn.)