As we end the first week of 2023, I’m sure you would agree that resolutions are notoriously slippery things.

     I’m proof of that, as evidenced by a resolution I made to my wife way back in 2006. I told her I would attempt to do something I had never done before, which was to write a book. Well, that was one resolution that went pretty much…nowhere. For the next decade and a half, much as I resolved to get it underway, each time I sat down to try, I did the same things over and over again – the definition of stupidity – and the project remained stuck, the prospective author frustrated, and his wife supportive but probably secretly exasperated that she had to keep hearing about this silly thing.

     Luckily, some strange and unwelcome things happened. We had a combination of a death in the family, a fire in the house, and a pandemic in the world that shook everything loose and caused us to look at things in a whole new way. The blockage resolved itself, I can claim no responsibility for it, and suddenly the project wanted to move forward.

     For those of you who follow this blog, you may be familiar with the resulting tale, ‘Forty-Something,’ and some of you have been kind enough to read it. Thanks for that. For the rest of you, we’re happy to report that it went live on Amazon this week. You can get it as an eBook, but I’ve overpriced that format to encourage you to get the paperback, the better to enjoy the wonderful map and illustrations. Any feedback you may have is valuable and encouraged, good or bad, and an online review doubly so. You can get it at this link.

     All of which got me thinking about the promises we make to ourselves, often in the beginning of January. So I googled around a little bit this week. And when I looked into resolutions, I realized that the problem with keeping one may not be something habitual, it might actually be etymological.

     To wit. Resolve is one crazy word. It originates from the Latin verb ‘solvo’ which means “to make loose, unyoke, undo; relax; set free; make void; dispel.” It’s pretty much intellectual WD40. But the many meanings of the word continue from there: ‘solvo’ can take the loosened pieces and break them down further, like resolving the chemical composition of something into its most elemental components. And once you get there, you can make a complete examination of what you’ve got, and determine what the heck to do with it all, resolving the source of the problem. Which can lead to a decision, and a resulting prescribed action. This is commonly illustrated in a government context, when somebody resolves to make some change or take some action for the future. At which point the gavel comes down and everyone agrees that the original sticky problem that started the whole mess…is resolved.

     The noun form of the word, ‘resolution,’ has similar meanings that evolved somewhat slowly. Up until the 14^th century, it only meant the first half of the process, the act of loosening and breaking things down. It wasn’t until the 15^th century that the second part, the act of examining the resulting pieces and coming to a conclusion, and then drawing a recommendation, started to become synonymous with that word.

     And then there’s the adjectival form of the word, ‘resolute.’ It’s the willpower you need to hold to your promise and do what you’ve promised to do. But over the centuries, ‘resolute’ has come to mean not only to be dedicated to a specific future promise, but in a more religious or moral sense, to have a general intention to continually better oneself.

     All of which means that ‘resolution’ is a lot more than just some promise, it’s a whole process and attitude. It’s “the first step in knowing you have a problem: admitting you have a problem,”; it’s breaking down all the components and diagnosing the problem; it’s the single-minded recommendation of what to do about it going forward; and it’s the moral dedication to hold yourself to your promise.

     (Yikes, and all I wanted to do was lose a few pounds…)

     Which brings me back to 2023, and a resolution of mine. I’ve realized that I face the same problem with the beginning of every year: coming up with enough interesting things to write about for this blog, every blessed Friday morning. I’ve looked at this problem long and hard, and have concluded that in order to resolve it, at least part of my solution will be this: I will cheat.

     Rather than come up with incredibly interesting a la carte subjects, pulling stuff out of the ether week after week, I’m going to let the calendar determine the content. I’ve got a handful of old installments, going back a decade or more, that address many of the key milestones of the year. Stories about solstices and equinoxes, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and seasonal interests. I’m gonna dust some of those off, and then add a bunch more.

     Here’s my Revolution Resolution for the coming year: I’m gonna essay a trip once around the sun in 52 topical weekly installments. Think of it as a 2023 desk calendar for your inbox.

     Come along for the spin.

     And good luck with your resolutions in the year ahead. Happy New Year.