This resolution takes more than a year to resolve

Happy New Year! The question of the day, and upcoming weeks, will be: Did you make a New Year's resolution?

After briefly researching the history of this tradition, I was unable to find a definitive answer on when it started or the reason behind it.

Over the years, I've always considered the list that I make to be something that has to be completed within a certain time frame. For example, if I decided to lose weight or complete a project, I usually assigned a target date so I would know whether I succeeded or failed. Of course, most of the time the deadline comes and goes and I'm still working on my list; or I might just chuck it and throw in the towel. 

As I thought about the upcoming new year and making my list of goals, I realized that I just completed a New Year's resolution made five years ago. Could it be that the idea of making the list is to keep our eye on the prize and making the change without the pressure of a fixed deadline?

I've always stressed the importance of an education to our children, reminding them of the importance of seeing something through to the end. In 2005, I looked in the mirror and saw the face of someone who was not practicing what she preached.

Eleven years earlier, a cancer diagnosis at the time of a cross country military transfer stopped my degree path with only four courses to go. Changing doctors and treatment facilities three times in four years created its own set of challenges, and it was eight years before the medications were under control.

I had convinced myself that I was getting too old and that it wasn't all that important to finish my own education. After all, who would hire an "old" person? And what good would it do to complete a degree after all this time?

Something clicked in me that January 2005 as we helped our daughter get ready to go to Afghanistan with the Army National Guard, and I decided that I would finish it by the time she returned. More obstacles got in the way and four classes turned into six since requirements had changed over the years and my classes came from all over the United States.

In May 2007, I completed an associate's degree. In the next few months, an opportunity to get a bachelor's degree in a field I truly enjoy came up and I jumped in with both feet. I took the first class in April 2008 and completed my bachelor's degree in emergency and disaster management on Nov. 29, 2009, after turning 58 in August.

It may have taken almost 20 years to complete but that doesn't diminish the good feeling that comes from completing a project or goal. 

Have a ramblin' good week.

 Reach Gail Davis at 265-1947 or RuhenstrothRamblings@yahoo.com