Happy New Year! It’s officially 2018, which means we can put 2017 and all of its ups and downs behind us. Which is what we thought we were doing with 2016 and all of its ups and downs about this time last year. Just goes to show you that, as a wise man once said, time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future.

I’ve never been a New Year’s Resolution kind of guy. I’ve tried a few of the greatest hits (lose weight, drink less, hit the gym more often, etc…) in the past but they never seem to last.¹ So I haven’t really come up with anything major this year. I am going to try to not eat out for lunch every day in January but that’s not a resolution so much as a cost-saving measure.²

So, even without a resolution to kickstart the year, I’m looking forward to 2018. One of the main reasons is that my wife and I are expecting our second kid in late February. I don’t know if this is normal with second kids but I feel like we aren’t remotely as prepared for this kid as we were for the first kid… and I wasn’t all that sure we were prepared for the first kid.

With the first kid, there were multiple baby showers to help us get ready. Between those showers and hand-me-downs from friends and family, I don’t think we had to buy any clothing for Kid 1 until he was at least 10 months, maybe even a year old. With Kid 2, there has been… maybe a few gifts from family members. And that’s primarily because Christmas just happened. And that’s not a criticism or complaint, just an observation of where we’re at.

We’re really only a couple of weeks away from “this kid could come at any time” territory and we still need to get a second car seat as well as newborn diapers and formula. And probably a two-kid stroller. We need to dig out the newborn clothes and figure out how we’re going to set up a nursery given that Kid 1 is only 15 months old and still in his crib. We have to pack a bag to take to the hospital. And we have to figure out how to deal with Kid 1 if my wife goes into labor before my parents arrive.

But I’m sure everything will work itself out. Or, rather, to be more accurate, I am hopeful that everything will work itself out.

Beyond the kid, another reason I’m looking forward to 2018 is that I generally have no idea what else it has in store for us. We don’t have any major plans or trips scheduled, other than a return trip to Northern Virginia for Thanksgiving. I’m sure we’ll head to Arkansas once Kid 2 is old enough to travel but that might not happen until later in the year. And we’ll have a baptism for Kid 2 at some point which will hopefully bring family in to town like we had with Kid 1.

Ok, I guess that’s a couple things that are in store for us in 2018. But, other than that, it’s all a bit of a mystery. Just tumbleweeds blowing across our calendar. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I suppose.

I guess if I were politically inclined, I’d be looking forward to the 2018 mid-term elections. But I’m not and I’m not. It’s a post for another day but let’s just leave it at I am cynical about anyone who actually thinks they deserve to be elected into office.

From a World of Sports perspective, there’s a World Cup this summer. In Russia of all places. But the U.S. didn’t qualify and neither did my second favorite team, the Netherlands. So while I’m sure I’ll catch some games when I can, I doubt I’ll follow it as closely as I otherwise would have.

From a movie perspective, there’s a handful coming out this year that I’d like to see. I have mixed feelings about the Han Solo movie coming out but I know I won’t be able to resist the Siren song of another Star Wars movie. Marvel has a slate of movies coming out this year that I’m interested in: Black Panther, the third Avengers movie and the second Ant Man. DC has Aquaman. There are also sequels to The Incredibles, Wreck It Ralph, Jurassic World, Fantastic Beasts, Pacific Rim and Deadpool headed our way. Not to mention the movie I’m most looking forward to seeing… Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs.³

But I’ll probably have to wait for most of those to hit Netflix before I see them. My wife is great about letting me sneak out to see a movie after Kid 1 is in bed but A) that’s a lot of movies listed above… I try to be very judicious in using that hall pass and B) I’m not sure how easy sneaking off to the movies will be once Kid 2 shows up.

So, to recap. 2018 is here. Kid 2 is on his way and we probably aren’t ready. We might or might not travel. Politicians are dumb. The U.S. National Team let me down. And there are some movies I’m interested in seeing.

Best post of 2018 so far!⁴

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1. With the possible exception of the drink less one. I’ve reached the point where I basically only drink the occasional glass of wine at dinner. But that was less of a New Year’s Resolution and more of a It Just Kind of Happened.
2. The one exception I’m giving myself is the monthly lunch for the local Public Relations Association of Mississippi chapter since A) it’s a professional organization and good for networking and B) I’m on the Board this year so I kind of have to go.
3. I really enjoy Wes Anderson’s movies. If you’re so inclined, you can read my ranking of his movies-to-date here.
4. Only post of 2018 so far.
5. I know there’s not a 5 in the text above but I realized that I was only 20 words away from hitting 1,000 so I’m cheating a little to hit that milestone. I’m not really sure why.