With the start of another year, no doubt we’ll be hearing a lot about resolutions. After all, this is one of those built-in spots to reevaluate our lives to determine what’s working and what needs tweaking.

As a caregiver, my life has a routine built around taking care of my husband, Tony, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He requires a set schedule, and I work the other aspects of my life around his.

Not surprisingly, my resolution where he is concerned is to ensure he stays healthy and has the best quality of life that he can. Under that resolution comes the many adjustments that must be made as his disease progresses and as challenges arise.

I’ve also seen some people make elaborate “vision boards” to set a path for their next year. They assemble magazines and then cut out visuals and slogans that align with what they want the next year to be. It looks cool, but I know myself well enough to know that that’s beyond my ability to pull off.

Besides, I allow my faith to be my guide for the big things that come up. That allows me to stay grounded and positive despite everything that works to drag me down.

Still others try to condense the coming year into a guiding word or phrase that they plan to use as a touchstone throughout the year. One friend has chosen “reimagine” as hers. She’s embarking on a life with changed circumstances, and it’s a perfect word.

I suppose if pressed, I would say that I choose two words: joy and patience.

“Joy” will remind me to see the good in the little things of each day and to carve out time for myself. It also will remind me that my life has inherent goodness built in; I just need to look for it.

“Patience” is a must, so this one isn’t new. I’m a work in progress, and this will remind me to keep trying. As a caregiver, I need patience when things go sideways, which happens more often than I’d like.

When Tony decides that he doesn’t want to get up to go to bed each night, when he won’t cooperate when I need to lift him into bed, when I must drop everything to deal with “clean up on Aisle 5,” I need a lot of patience. Otherwise, I’ll make a bad situation even worse. I’ve been there and done that; I really don’t want to go back.

But I also need patience with myself, something that comes far harder for me than the patience I need for everything else. I don’t have to be perfect. When I try to be perfect, all it does is steal my joy. (See how my chosen words are interconnected?)

For me, patience requires playing the long game instead of expecting instant progress. For instance, when I had to take over the cooking duties from Tony a few years back, I was essentially starting from scratch, literally and figuratively.

Sure, I’d taken home economics classes in school, so I could boil water and make spaghetti. However, I didn’t have any knife skills and wasn’t comfortable trying to adjust recipes to fit our needs and tastes.

Early on, one of our friends gave us a Purple Carrot subscription for a few meals, which required me to cook interesting things. It was totally out of my comfort zone. However, most of the meals turned out fine.

Of course, the day that I was trying to make tomato bisque and somehow cut open my finger just as I was supposed to be putting the hot ingredients into a blender wasn’t my best effort. I toughed it out and dinner wasn’t ruined. Happily, the finger healed as well.

These days my knife skills have improved greatly. Patience and practice have gone a long way to making me a better cook. I’m also eternally grateful to the content creators on social media who distill cooking tips and tricks. I might never make whatever it is they’re making that day, but I have picked up useful techniques to try.

Just last week, I made a quiche for the first time. That I didn’t have an actual recipe but only a “magic ratio” of milk to eggs was a leap of faith that I previously would never have even considered. It was delicious and spoke to the progress I’ve made, albeit slowly.

Maybe my resolution will be to continue to try new things in the kitchen. That way I can exercise some patience when I fail and feel great joy when things turn out well.

Here’s to another year of growth and gratitude!

• Joan Oliver is the former Northwest Herald assistant news editor. She has been associated with the Northwest Herald since 1990. She can be reached at jolivercolumn@gmail.com.