So, 2006 comes to an end. This was easily the most eventful, most joy-filled year of my life. The process of planning a wedding was fantastic, the experience of standing up in front of everyone who’s dear to me and pledging my life to another person was an experience I’ll never forget.

So how does one top that? I don’t think they do…as a result of this year, my life is forever changed. Resolutions now mean something different, for I’m accountable to another person. In the past I’ve pursued goals and taken on responsibilities because I felt like it. But now I have a person looking to me to be a leader, to be a the kind of husband that I promised her I could be.

The first three months of marriage have been absolute bliss, and it’s easy for me to assume that because things have been so perfect I must be behaving like the perfect husband. Of course, the smallest amount of introspection reveals that to be false. And while I’m confident the honeymoon will continue long into 2007, now is the time to develop the kind of habits that will make for a strong and healthy marriage long into 2050.

And so my resolutions for the coming year take on a measure of greater importance than in years past. They are resolutions for two now, and the decisions I make, the paths I decide to venture down will be ventured down as a team.

As is usually the case, others find my accomplishments of the past year to be numerous while I find them to be painfully sparse. While I feel blessed to be wed to someone who thinks I’ve done great stuff already, I know that I continue to operate largely on cruise control. There’s so much more that can be done to build a better life, a better career, a better marriage, a better relationship with God.

I need to approach the other aspects of my life with the same intensity as I did the wedding. I need to resolve to stop making excuses. I need to learn to count on other people. I need to finally own up to the fact that I am a leader. I need to stop wasting so much time. I need to learn to make hard decisions, to stop being such a thinker and become more of a doer. Most importantly, I need to become much more well versed in living for other people. Or more accurately, for another person.

And, of course, I need to lose 15 pounds.

Happy New Year – may 2007 bring you at least as much happiness as 2006 brought me.