Gretchen at Second Blooming challenges us to use the word “mission” rather than “resolution” when assigning our Spin Cycle prompt this week.

Gretchen (a.k.a. “Cinnamon Carter“) writes, “So…no resolutions. …I need a word which conjures up something bigger, more dramatic. How about…missions. Yeah, I like that. An ‘operational task’, something to plan for and embark upon. It may even require a tight black jumpsuit like Emma Peel. Or not. A mission to clean out the garage sounds MUCH cooler than a resolution to clean out the garage, doesn’t it?”

And so I choose to accept the mission; here are my 5 missions for 2013. Don’t expect to see me in a black jumpsuit this year, however.

1. Operation Laugh More

When one of my children spills the full glass of milk I just poured, I need to laugh. When I make a mistake, I need to laugh. When my kids are goofy, I need to laugh. Laughing instead of yelling would make my life better. And so…

2. Operation Yell Less

When one of my children spills the full glass of milk I just poured…I will not yell! When we are running late, I will not yell! When my kids will not eat the delicious food I just spent an hour making, I WILL NOT YELL!

3. Operation Exercise More

We are writing about the New Year, after all, and what would the New Year be without a resolution (ahem, I mean MISSION) to exercise more? When I exercise, I feel less stress. When I’m less stressed, I yell less, and therefore I laugh more. SO, in order to accomplish the first two missions, I need to include this special exercise mission. Also: MORE healthy eating. I have such good intentions, and then the snack monster attacks! Discipline, Ginny, discipline!

4. Operation Green

Grandma would use coffee cans to store her cookies. Mom would hand us bread bags to help slide our feet into our tight rubber snow boots. When I look at our garbage, it is full of plastic bags. We have a great recycling program where we live, but we still can’t recycle plastic bags. My mission is to use less plastic this year; to remember my reusable totes instead of forgetting them in the kitchen; and to pack lunches with more reusable containers. Stores that use plastic bags are required to recycle plastic bags, so I’m going to be more diligent about bringing in all the plastic bags I do use to recycle.

5. Operation Write More

Oh, this is the tricky one. I want to write more, yes, but I don’t just want to write drivel. I don’t want to just ramble with no purpose. As Raymond Chandler said, “Most critical writing is drivel and half of it is dishonest. It is a short cut to oblivion, anyway. Thinking in terms of ideas destroys the power to think in terms of emotions and sensations.” To write honestly with emotions and sensations…that is some mission!

What missions are you willing to accept for 2013?