Wishes and Goals for 2017

This is very unusual for me - a post like this. Even thinking about goals, much less writing them down and publishing them openly, is just not my style. I'm a realist, and I'd more likely think, "The first step in not reaching a goal is setting one." I let life come at me as it will and go with the flow.

To-do lists work well for me. I just wrote one for today, in fact, although "Write a blog post" is not on it.

Why not give this ol' setting goals thing a try, though? Funnily enough, I do like reading other bloggers' lists of goals and wishes for the year to come, which is why I decided to ponder mine. Here we go.

WISHES

• for the war in Syria to end.


• that all 17 of my students achieve the B1 level on their German test in April.


• that America's future P stops tweeting. Fremdschämen pur!


• to see both of my kids during the year (I already know this will happen, as long as my son locates his passport)
  Update: The passort has been located!

This was a few years ago; they're 21 and 23 now.

GOALS

• get back to Scotland (this is cheating; we just booked a trip there for the summer!)

Glengorm, Isle of Mull

• complete my interview and writing project


• drink more tea (and less coffee)

• live more healthily - snack less, walk more


• read more, and actually finish the books I start before I start reading another! I'll set my goal at a measly 30 books, since in 2016 I only finished 21!

One wish and one goal are happening for sure: my daughter mentioned that it would be nice to go back to Scotland, and three days later the trip was booked! My kids and my son's girlfriend will fly over and meet us in Edinburgh, and then we'll spend a week on the Isle of Mull followed by a few days in the Edinburgh area. We've already had fun planning meals (we'll stay in a self-catering flat in Glengorm Castle while on Mull) and activities including hikes, a wildlife boat tour, time in beautiful Tobermory, climbing one of the hills in Edinburgh, The Real Mary King's Close or Greyfriar's Churchyard or the Writers' Museum or Holyrood Palace, the Great Polish Map of Scotland, several castle ruins...

I'll be seeing my parents this year as well because my dad is coming for several weeks to take a German course at the local language school, and my mom will follow later for the 50th anniversary of the Sheboygan-Esslingen sister city partnership in May. In July five middle school students from Sheboygan will be in Esslingen for their summer exchange program, and after that I have no plans at all. Maybe I'll teach again, maybe I'll focus one of my books. 

We'll just have to see what comes. 

What are your wishes and goals for 2017??