What good shall I do this day?

I'm not sure what I'm going to say, but in 2013 and 2014 I posted 22 blog offerings, and so far this year, I've only written twenty-one. That just seems wrong on this 31st day of 2015. I guess I'll "shape at the point of utterance" and see where this leads.

At age sixty-eight, I have little faith in new-year's resolutions--that endless list of habits to develop that never seem to materialize. Same ten pounds. Same slothful lack of discipline. Same pride issues. Same pinching pennies and throwing away hundred-dollar bills. Not of general interest. (Can you tell I'm rereading "Cheaper by the Dozen" for the dozenth time?)

What I am enthusiastic about is listing experiences to accumulate. Last year was amazing in that regard. We visited Iguazu Falls, cruised Antarctica, rafted Grand Canyon, jumped off a cliff into the Colorado River, rode horses every day for a week, completed a mission, prayed a couple of friends back into the Church (no, I'm not taking credit), helped a terminally ill friend create a book for each of her children, made a road trip to the Northwest and visited six siblings, knit socks and hats and scarves for 23 Christmas gifts. Done and done.

What's on the Bucket List for 2016? More praying, obviously. More service to those close to home. An Institute Class. More temple visits. Knitting that Chilean wool from Hada and sending her pictures. Avoiding taking politics seriously. Oops, starting to sound like resolutions.

Okay: Train trip across the USA. (Elder and Sister Betts, are you reading this?), Monthly cabin trips of at least a week and including hikes in Zion. Mexico with sisters. Tuacahn and Shakespeare Festival, high school musicals. Having a hundred-dollar bill in my purse at all times. Eating out occasionally (no this is not reducing the amount of eating out, it's tripling it). Having a thousand dollars in my drawer. In twenties. Getting a good pair of gold hoop earrings again. Reading all the books on my Kindle and beside my bed. Staying off FaceBook except for the weekly check-in. A monthly massage, which I'm going to schedule right now!

Shawn gave me an enamel plaque with the words, "What good shall I do this day?" I've still to decide where best to hang it, but what a thoughtful question to have before me each day of 2016! Besides the obvious service it implies, it asks the moral question as well. What will I do with the unexpected $700 bill from the contractor who was paid the amount he bid for our home improvements in full long ago? How do I respond to the failures of others? How do I handle my own feelings of having failed? How do I decide between competing "goods"? How do I resolve the tension between faith and doubt? How do I "get over myself" and become unselfish?

I'm looking forward to it! Not going to lie. Perfection is a long way off.