A look ahead at the new year

It’s 2014; do you know where your resolutions are? Mine are still waiting to be made. Maybe stopping procrastination should be one of them.

We’re only a couple weeks into the year and already there are some things we can say with absolute certainty: The Houston Texans will not be in the Super Bowl (and neither will the Dallas Cowboys, by the way), the Astros will not be in the World Series (OK, I don’t know that for a fact, but I’d be willing to take that bet), and the Rockets will be just an average NBA team.

All seriousness aside, there really is no way we can say what will happen in 2014. We can individually determine what we want to happen but it takes an authority higher than a human to know what will be accomplished.

My biggest goal for 2014 was reached on Jan. 2 when I had my return to journalism, particularly small town community journalism. I’ve done the big city stuff and it’s really not for me.  Maybe it’s just an ego thing, but I like rubbing elbows with the community movers and shakers and knowing that my congressman has me on speed dial (at least during elections).

Other things that will happen (good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise) on a personal note is the graduation of my oldest son Wesley from Brazos High School and my daughter fulfilling a lifelong dream to travel abroad when she attends a semester of school this spring in Florence, Italy. Heather is a junior at the University of Northern Colorado where she majors in art.

When it comes to more deeply personal things, I’d like to lose weight (60 pounds would be ideal, but I’d settle for 20 … or 10 … or just not gaining any more), write a book, get out of debt, and buy a home. They’re all achievable if I’m willing to commit to it and work hard. I guess that’s my biggest hang-up because these things have been on my list for years. It relates to my procrastination issue because once I commit to working on something I usually work pretty hard at it.

One thing I must not procrastinate on is my Wood Badge ticket. Wood Badge is an intense, six-day leadership course taught by the Boy Scouts. Adults learn all kinds of fun, inspiring leadership skills. They then develop a plan (called a ticket) to carry out within a year and a half of the course in order to complete the program and be awarded your Wood Badge beads.  (For any fellow Wood Badgers out there, I’m a Bobwhite. Yes, I was sorted into the House of Hufflepuff!)

Participants work their tickets, which includes five action plans that that improve their local Scouting unit. My ticket involves communications within our troop. Since our troop either lacks policies or has policies dating as far back as the 20^th century, I thought it would be a good idea to bring them up to date. Things like social media and texting didn’t exist the last time they were addressed.

Here in Sealy and Austin County, this new year will bring about some changes in the political scene. The biggest is that for the first time in 20 years, the county will elect a new judge. Carolyn Bilski is stepping down after two decades on the job and six Republican men are vying for the seat.

Having met these men, I can tell you that there are only a couple worthy of the position, but in the interest of neutrality, I’m not saying whom. That will be up to registered Republican voters to decide. If the Democrats want a say, they’ll need to put forth a candidate of their own, which they failed to do. (Perhaps they have procrastination problems, too.)

Anyway, to wrap this up, it looks like 2014 is a year filled with promise, possibilities, and change – unless you’re a Houston sports team. What that change looks like locally is up to each and every one of us.