Promises to a Future Me

Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I’ve decided to keep a list of things I promise myself that I will not do when I am older. I’ll periodically add items to the list but right now, let’s get started.

#1) I will not tell people around me to eat when I have not touched a single thing on my plate.

#2) I will not utter ‘eat’ to others when they are sitting at a table. Tables can be used for many purposes other than eating, like reading a newspaper, writing a letter, playing a board game. People do not need to eat during those activities. Tables do not always = eat.

#3) I will not answer the phone except in my own house.

#4) I will not dig through the garbage in other people’s houses and pull out things I think are still good. I will also not suggest that said garbage item might be good for someone. There’s a reason why it’s in the garbage in the first place. (Yes, one man’s garbage is another man’s gem but let’s just remember ‘garbage’ entered into the sentence at some point so let’s keep it there.)

#5) I will try to be grateful for what I have and those around me. I will remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and not bark out commands to people who are hosting me.

#6) I will try my best to remember the mantra “If I have nothing nice to say, it’s best to keep my mouth shut.”

#7) I will try not to say “I want to die” to young people especially those under age of 12. It’s traumatic at some point.

#8) I will try not to pretend I have a medical degree and know more than doctors who have been practicing for years and who are specialists in their field.

#9) I will listen to said people in #8 as they likely know more than I do about health-related matters.

#10) I will not blame others for situations where I am a key participant. It takes two to tango in most situations and likely I have done something to contribute to the bad as well as the good in most things.

#11) I will remind myself of #5 repeatedly, even if I feel horrible and hate being old. 

#12) I will take a vested interest in understanding basic Biology and how my body functions or what could happen when it doesn't function well anymore.