Non-resolution

We are buried in snow. Which is bad. And school hasn't been canceled. Which is way worse. I will blog about snow soon. But first I have to upload pictures and steal pictures from my siblings. Because I forgot my camera.

So meanwhile, I will fill the time by telling you about a non-resolution of mine. A few months ago, I wrote a post on non-goals. My non-goal of that post was that I would never run a marathon.

This time of year, it seems appropriate to be making non-resolutions.

In Peru, at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, people apparently run out the door and around the block dragging suitcases. If you do this, the story goes, then your year will be filled with exciting travel. I know this because my mother told me, and she knows this because my family hosted a couple Peruvian exchange students several years ago after I had moved away. These Peruvian exchange students, after a couple of months with my family, came to realize that whatever crazy stories they told my parents would be accepted wide-eyed and imitated -- provided the stories were prefaced by "we do this in Peru."

The suitcase ritual definitely hit a soft spot with my parents. My mother is always dreaming of traveling to exotic (read: third world) locations. Every New Year's Eve since she was told of this ritual, my mother has had her suitcases ready at midnight. She just sent an email asking if any of the rest of us ran around the block (in the snow) with our suitcases.

No Mom. We did not.

In 2008, I made seven transatlantic flights, adding up to about seven weeks of jet lag. I was burned both ways with currency exchange. I had to communicate with hand waving and little dances. I became ill from the food, ill from the travel, ill from recirculated air. I dealt with packing and luggage, security lines, airport food, no airport food, passports, visas, delays.

Non-resolution #1: I hereby resolve not to travel in 2009.

OK, that's already scheduled to be broken. How about this:

Non-resolution #1(a): I hereby resolve not to travel internationally in 2009. Wouldn't that be nice.