There’s a section on my annual review at work that says, “Stop: / Don’t stop:” and it always makes me think of this scene in The Sound of Music. Liesl has snuck out to the garden for a meeting with Rolfe. She pretends she is sending Rolfe a telegram, and it goes:

Dear Rolfe
Stop
Don’t stop
Your Liesl

Now doesn’t that make “Don’t stop” sound so much more fun? So this year I’m doing a Don’t Stop list, instead of New Year’s Resolutions. Here it is:

Don’t stop:

• learning and trying to become a better human being.
• laughing whenever a baby laughs nearby.
• finding things I love to do and enjoying them with enthusiasm.
• singing in the car.
• reading great books.
• feeling the pain and joy of others, and offering what I can.
• being unafraid to look ridiculous for the admiration of a child.
• leaving my shoes in the living room (because– let’s be honest– even if I say I’m going to stop doing this, I’m not, so I’m just going to put it in the Don’t Stop list right away).