Friday, December 28, 2012

2013 Melanoma Awareness Resolu...umm...Plans



Image: Livescience.com
Each year I decide upon a set of personal New Year’s Resolutions.  I guess I use the calendar change as a benchmark as to where I am versus a year ago…and set goals as to where I’d like to be in another year.  Consider it a personal employee evaluation.  So let’s review last year’s personal resolutions.

1.       Lose 15 pounds. (I gained 8)
2.       Become more financially secure. (Fiscal cliff?  HA!  I’ve been in a Fiscal Abyss for several months now!  Help!)
3.       Reduce the amount of time spent at work. (I may change my mailing address to “the butt at my desk.”)
4.       Spend more time at home with my wife and kids. (See mailing address above)
5.       Eat healthy foods.  (I ate a salad at McD’s yesterday, but dang that pizza tonight tasted sooo good!)
6.       Exercise more. (Ummmmm…does grunting when I get out of bed count?)
7.       Get more sleep. (Have you noticed how late I usually write these posts?)

Okay…so I fell a bit short this past year.  But I intend to make the exact same resolutions this year (except now to lose 23 pounds) and this year I’ll meet them all.  Yep.  I sure will.  Uh huh.

Isn’t the definition of insanity the act of expecting a different outcome while attempting the same task over and over?  Just wondering.

Anyhow, I’m not here to preach about my personal resolutions.  Instead, I want to share my other resolut…umm…let’s not call them resolutions.  Or even goals.  Let’s just call them plain ol’ plans.  Why?  Because I damn well will work towards these tasks and I don’t plan on falling short!  These are my plans in 2013 with regards to melanoma awareness and sun safety.

1.       Continue writing this blog at least once a week if not more frequently.  Lately, I’ve felt that I’ve shared it all over and over.  I felt the same way last year…I’m sure it’s just the holiday rush.  But just as the Grinch had a mountaintop epiphany, I realize that it’s okay to repeat the same message over and over.  Wear sunscreen…get your skin checked…stay out of tanning beds.  Over and over…it’s a message that NEEDS to be heard!  I won’t stop!

2.       Share the message of sun safety and skin screenings with everyone I can…not just in this blog.  I won’t leap out of dark alleys brandishing sunscreen, but I’ll ask my friends and co-workers if they’ve had their skin checked lately.

3.       Use any talents I have to assist with the passage of the Ban the Tan bill in North Carolina.  I plan to write my representatives and help others write to theirs.  I plan to write several blogs sharing stories of North Carolina citizens who have been touched by melanoma.  I will be heard and they WILL listen.  And they WILL pass the bill!

4.        Promote the next AIM Walk in Charlotte as much as possible and hopefully attend again.

5.       Promote the Amanda-Corey Memorial walk for MRF held in my hometown, and help make it the biggest melanoma awareness event in eastern North Carolina.

6.       Wear sunscreen and get my skin checked.

The best part of these resolu…umm…plans is that you can do them, too!  Spread the word, write your representatives in your town, county or state, and participate in a walk or other fund-raiser.  And by all means, wear your sunscreen and get your skin checked!

2012 was a great year for melanoma awareness…and 2013 will be even better.  You can count on that!

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