The Perfect Resolution (The End)

Hi and thanks to all you adventurous souls who keep coming back for more. If you are just now stumbling onto this, here are the links to the first parts.

The Perfect Resolution Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3

This has been fun to write each day, but also so different from the style of writing I'm used to. Usually I write with the door closed, as Mr. King so accurately puts it. I don't show anyone my work till I have gotten at least the first draft down and know how the story is going to play out. With this short story I am posting as I write, allowing for little edit time (or as I like to call it - bang my head on the keyboard and change it time). Although I know how it's going to end, it's always interesting to me to see how the characters arrive there. I hope you are finding it interesting as well :) Please feel free to leave me a comment (good/bad). I'd love to hear what you think.

Kristin : )
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The Perfect Resolution (The End)

Jenny stood, marker in hand and a renewed sense of hope for reaching her goals. She found it strange to feel so upbeat, especially after the way the day had gone so far. Her kids were banished to their rooms and busy cleaning and her husband had left to the hardware store to get a new garbage disposal. The house was quiet, which helped Jenny maintain this brief illusion of control.

She looked over the list, once again wishing she had used paper and not her bedroom wall, but what's done is done. She would make the best of it. Clearly she started with too high of expectations. Achieving perfection was still possible, she just had to whittle her ideas of perfection down a bit. She went to work crossing out and replacing affirmations with ones she could look at and not want to scream. When she was done she stood back and smiled. Now this is a list I can do.


To be PERFECT I must do the following EVERYDAY:

• DO NOT PROCRASTINATE Don't put off what you can do today.



• drink 640z of waterliquid



• exercise for 30- -60 minutes



• 5 servings of fruits & veggies a day



• read & write for 4 hours each (TY Stephen King)



• Sleep for 8-10 hours whenever you can



• Power nap in the afternoon



• Cook healthy meals at home (NO TAKEOUT!) Eat healthier



• Eat dinner as a family (AT THE KITCHEN TABLE!)



• No alcohol, No coffeeNo sugar (THINK HEALTHY!)



• Keep up w/house cleaning Make family help more!



• Stay on top of laundry



• get/give at least 6 hugs (TY Becky Sain)



• Take time for you! (YOU DESERVE IT!)



• Finally, when perfection is achieved... repaint bedroom wall!

The laundry is one load away from being done. Already almost halfway there on the hugs with my kids and dinner is thawing on the counter. All there was left was getting some reading and writing in and finding time for herself. Jenny thought about her article for the local paper that was due by Friday. She had planned on working on it tomorrow, when everyone was back at school and work. Why not now? The house was quiet and the revised first line from her list was encouraging.

Jenny headed for the den and her sacred corner delegated as her office. On the way past she called out to make sure the kids were still working on their rooms and had not drifted into video game and text comas.

As she wrote, she listened to gentle sounds of progress in her home. She could hear the different styles of music wafting from the kid's rooms and the tell tale movements of cleaning and organizing. Her husband returned and was busy removing the old disposal. The clanking of wrenches against pipes seemed to dance with the tapping of keys.

Jenny stopped typing, sat back, and looked at the computer screen in amazement. She had finished the entire first draft of her article. She still had to give it a day to rest before polishing it, but the first draft was done. She let out a long relieved breath. She sat and looked it over again, letting the feeling of accomplishment fill her, then moved the cursor over the save button.

The lights dimmed in three quick successions and then went out completely. The screen went blank. Jenny hit the power button with panicked hope. It did nothing, the screen remained black, her article gone. She opened her mouth to scream, but her husband's yell echoed through the house.

"What happened? Are you OK?" She asked as she rushed to where his legs and lower torso stuck out from under the sink.

He pulled himself out, wire cutters in his hand and a crazy expression in his eyes.

"Did you shock yourself again?" Her worry melting as the hair on his arms visible began to lie back down against his skin. He only nodded. "Why don't you ever shut off the power when you're working near electricity?"

"Power's off now." He smiled sheepishly.

"So is my computer. I lost the article I was working on."

"Oh, sorry. I'll go fix the breaker."

"No, I'll do it. I'm going to throw in the last load of laundry anyway."

Jenny reset all the breakers but the kitchen and switched over the laundry. As she put in the last piece of clothing off the floor into the washer she sighed. It felt like a hollow victory after loosing her article. Being perfect at laundry alone was not what she had in mind. Something caught her eye. Jenny looked up to see a sleeve sticking out of the laundry chute. It must have gotten stuck. She unlatched the door and was assaulted by a mountain of clothes. Shocked by the attack she stood there, underwear hanging from her shoulder, a rogue sock flopping into her face, the rest piled up around her as high as her knees.

The opposite end of the chute creaked open and another collection of dirty clothes fell. Peering down, framed by the bathroom light behind her and looking as surprised as Jenny, was Vanessa.

"Mom? What are you doing there?"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"Are you looking for something in the dirty clothes?"

"Yes, my sanity." Jenny mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Dad's calling you. Sounds like something exploded in the kitchen, besides him." Vanessa smiled.

Back in the kitchen Jenny stopped in the doorway and watched her husband stand over a pile of metal pipes, plastic rings, and an open instruction book. He turned with a look of frustration on the verge of rage.

"Want some help?" She couldn't help but feel bad. He was a mess, his head and shoulders soaked and his knuckles bruised and bleeding.

"Please." He handed her the thick booklet. "I'm going back under. Read out how this thing goes together."

Jenny hopped up on the counter and started reading, jumping down to hand him the next part and the tools he would need. It took a few hours but they had the new disposal up and running. They both stood back and listened to it hum.

Jenny looked at the time. Already six o'clock, too late to start cooking the pork roast she had planned for dinner. She poked it and shook her head, it was still frozen anyway.

"What's wrong? We did it." Her husband asked, still smiling from his accomplishment.

"I failed." Jenny said quietly, a tear escaped and ran down her cheek.

"No you didn't. Look at what we did." He pointed to the sink.

"I failed at everything. I even crossed off most of my list and still failed. The house, the laundry, the pork."

"The pork?"

"Yes, our healthy dinner is still a frozen block on the counter. I'm just one big failure after another." More tears fell.

"No you're not."

"Have you seen that list on the wall?" She took him by the arm and led him into the bedroom and pointed angrily. "Look. I can't do anything of this right. I've failed."

"Ok, I've had enough of this list." Her husband announced. He left the room on hard footsteps. Jenny sat on the bed and buried her face in her hands, unable to look at the wall. Unwilling to face her failures.

Jenny could hear her husband banging things around and then it sounded like water was running in the bathroom. It lasted for a while. Jenny just sat there.

Jenny heard her husband's determined footsteps getting closer. She didn't look up. She felt bad enough about the way the day had gone and didn't want to cap it off with a fight.

"Come here." He said too stern. Jenny did not move. "Jenny, look at me." He said softer.

She looked up and then sat straighter. He was standing there with her pink plush robe and a huge glass of wine. Confused, she just stared. He held out the wine. Her eyes went from his to the list.

"Forget that stupid list. Here." He said again and put the wine into her hand. She took the stem into her fingers and looked up at him through we lashes. "Come on." He pulled her gently by the arm.

He walked her to the bathroom. The tub was full of bubbly water. There was a small stool set up next to it with the book she was reading and a few of her favorite magazines. Jenny smiled.

"What's this?"

"This is for you. Get in and relax." He ordered with a smile. He kissed her on the cheek, hung her robe on the towel hook, and left the room.

An hour later, a rested relaxed Jenny emerged from the bathroom. She felt so much better and ready to face her dreaded wall again. I won't give up. It was a only a bad start. She took a deep breath and turned toward the wall when she entered the room. It took her a moment to register what she was seeing, or not seeing. It was gone. The list, her resolutions, they were all gone. The wall was back to the crisp white blankness. What? A noise startled her and Jenny spun around to see her husband, son, and daughter standing in the doorway.

"What happened?" She said, pointing at the wall.

"I painted it." Her husband said as he came to stand next to her. He waved the kids over. That's when Jenny noticed they were both holding something. Timmy came closer with a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers clutched in his hand and Vanessa held out a card.

Jenny opened her mouth, but no words came. All she could do was smile as tears filled her eyes. She wiped them away and tore the envelope open. The card was sweet, but what really got her was what was inside.

Inside was a picture of all them on a water raft, soaking wet and smiling. Jenny remembered the day at the park that past summer. She dragged them all there because she was writing a review for a family vacation magazine. They all protested, saying they were too old for an amusement park. It turned out to be so much fun. Her husband put his arm around her and flipped the picture to reveal writing on the back. It simply said:

You have always been perfect to us!

Jenny wrapped her arms around all three and squeezed them tightly, wanting to remember this perfect moment forever.

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I hope you enjoyed The Perfect Resolution. Jenny learned that perfection comes in many forms. It's not always about doing everything just right, it's about doing the best you can and never giving up. At least that's what I thought she learned. What did you think? I'd love you hear.

Thanks,

Kristin : )

The Perfect Resolution Pt3

Hi and welcome to part 3 of my short story, The Perfect Resolution. If you're just starting here are the links to Part 1 & Part 2 . Thanks and I hope you enjoy.

The Perfect Resolution (Pt.3)

Jenny tossed and turned in bed. A power nap was not happening. She sat up and looked at her list on the wall.

To be PERFECT I must do the following EVERYDAY:

• DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!


• drink 640z of water liquid


• exercise for 30 -60 minutes


• 5 servings of fruits & veggies a day


• read & write for 4 hours each (TY Stephen King)


• Sleep for 8-10 hours


• Power nap in afternoon


• Cook healthy meals at home (NO TAKEOUT!)


• Eat dinner as a family (AT THE KITCHEN TABLE!)


• No alcohol, No caffeine, No sugar(THINK HEALTHY!)


• Keep up w/house cleaning


• Stay on top of laundry


• get/give at least 6 hugs (TY Becky Sain)


• Take time for you! (YOU DESERVE IT!)


• Finally, when perfection is achieved... repaint bedroom wall!

Writing this on my wall isn't inspiring me, it's just reminding me of how imperfect I am. Jenny looked at the things she crossed out. The thick lines of failure running through her hopes. Guilt quickly boiled under her skin and grew hot. This is crazy. I'll just cross the whole thing out now and face that I'll never be perfect. She jumped to her feet and grabbed the marker in her fist. She raised it high, ready to slay the beast before her.

"Maaaa! Timmy's locked himself in the bathroom with my phone!"

Jenny sighed, dropped the marker, and went out to the hallway. "What's going on? Where's your father?"

"He's got my cell. He's reading my texts!" Vanessa screamed. Her hands waving around as if not holding her phone had untethered them from her control.

"Stop screaming. Tim, it's Mom. Open the door." Jenny knocked lightly.

"Lol, OMG Nessa. Like OMG. He's so ubercute." Timmy called out in a shrill voice through the door.

"I'm gunna kill you Timmy. You hear me?"

"Ok, Ok. Timothy, that's enough. Open this door." Jenny was loosing patience.

"Oh, you'll like this one Mom." He called out and then in his mocking shrill voice continued, "He is so like wants to KYU."

Jenny felt the blood drain from her face. She turned slowly to her daughter. "Who is going to what?"

"No one. It was just a joke Mom. Timmy, you are so dead. So dead. Now, you'll never find your stupid foam hockey pucks!"

"You do anything to my pucks and I'll flush your phone down the toilet." He threatened back and flushed the toilet for effect.

"Maaa, do something."

"What does KYU mean?" Visions of adult commercials were swirling in her head. Vanessa's face reddened. Jenny felt sick.

"Kiss you up," Timmy volunteered through the door.

"Urghh, that's it. Your pucks are done!" Vanessa screamed and ran off.

"Oh, yeah. Take this....FLUSHHHHH..."

Jenny stood in the hall, not sure which child to deal with first. A strange sound came from the kitchen. She headed there and yelled over her shoulder, "Timothy, if you flushed that phone you are buying your sister a new one."

The noise got louder as she approached the kitchen, a strange gurgling and dying mower engine sound. Vanessa was at the sink jamming circular black things into the running garbage disposal. The disposal was sputtering and churning slower with each added deposit.

"Vanessa, what are you doing?" Vanessa looked over her shoulder, wild eyed. Jenny ran up behind her and wrapped her arms around her arms and upper body. Timmy came running in.

"My pucks!" He screamed and ran toward them trying to grab at the ones still in Vanessa's hands.

Jenny was pinned in the middle. Her hugging Vanessa and Timmy reaching around grasping at his sister.

"STOP!" Jenny screamed. The room went silent. No one moved, they were all frozen with their hands still wrapped around each other. All that could be heard was the heavy breathing from the three. This is kind of a hug. Jenny shook her head at the thought.

"That's it. You're both grounded. Go to your rooms." Jenny let go of Vanessa, but stood in the middle until Timmy had released her and was safely out of the room.

The sputtering continued. She rushed over hit the switch to shut off the disposal. It came to whining stop. After the blades stopped spinning she reached in to recover as much of the rubbery puck pieces as possible. When there was nothing left but tiny mangled bits, she turned the water on and reran the disposal. It made a grinding noise, then something snapped. Water came spurting and spraying out like a geyser right into her face. The sound of metal clanking against the inner drum was so loud it brought everyone to the kitchen. Jenny hit the switch off and waved her hand over the swirl of smoke rising. Turning to see her husband, son and daughter standing there, looking innocently surprised, she couldn't be sure if the smoke was from the disposal or her head.

"I'll fix it." Her husband said tentatively walking up beside her to survey the damage.

"I'm sorry." Vanessa whispered.

"Me too." Added Timmy.

Water dripped down her face, running through her thickly concealed brows and leaving beige streaks down her face. She could taste the play dough like substance as it pooled in the corners of her mouth. Her family looked at her, eyes wide, waiting for her to blow.

"It's broke. I'll go to the hardware store." Her husband said with the look of a prisoner that just made parole, hopeful yet remorseful. Jenny turned to him, raised her arms up toward him slowly like a zombie. He automatically flinched and stepped back. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged. He hugged back apprehensively, not sure how to react.

When her husband left the room Jenny turned to her kids. They looked terrified by what they had just witnessed. She walked to them and pulled them both to her and hugged. When she was finished she calmly sent them back to their rooms to resume their punishment.

"I want your rooms to be spotless before you come out. Then we'll talk about what happened. You both hear me." Her composure surprised herself. Vanessa and Timmy nodded in agreement.

Jenny went back to her room and looked at the list. Maybe I can still do this. I just need to be more realistic about it though. She picked up the marker and crossed a few more items. She could still be perfect with what she kept.

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That's it for now. Stay tuned for more of The Perfect Resolution.

Thanks,

Kristin : )

* Here is the link to The Perfect Resolution (The End)

40 Posts in 40 Days: The Perfect Resolution Pt2

Hi. This is part 2 of a short story I started yesterday. If you missed the beginning here is the link. The Perfect Resolution Pt.1

The Perfect Resolution (Pt.2)

Jenny stood in front of the list emblazoned on her wall. Her husband, still on the floor beside the bed, is snoring quietly. Feeling a little guilty for putting him there so abruptly she tossed her plushy pink robe over him and returned to the wall. The washer was crammed full of blankets and the trip up and down the stairs twice -second time to balance and restart washer- definitely goes towards a few minutes of exercise. The apple in the second danish must have had at least a serving of real fruit. She smiles. This is not that bad. I really can do this.

To be PERFECT I must do the following EVERYDAY:

• DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!
  


• drink 640z of water
  


• exercise for 30 - 60 minutes
  


• 5 servings of fruits & veggies a day
  


• read & write for 4 hours each (TY Stephen King)
  


• Sleep for 8-10 hours
  


• Power nap in afternoon
  


• Cook healthy meals at home (NO TAKEOUT!)
  


• Eat dinner as a family (AT THE KITCHEN TABLE!)
  


• No alcohol, No caffeine, No sugar (THINK HEALTHY!)
  


• Keep up w/house cleaning
  


• Stay on top of laundry
  


• get/give at least 6 hugs (TY Becky Sain)
  


• Take time for you! (YOU DESERVE IT!)
  


• Finally, when perfection is achieved... repaint bedroom wall!

She heads back to the kitchen, the sounds of bongo drums are fading. The sink is full of dishes from last night's fun. Before tackling them she runs the water til it feels ice cold and fills a tall glass. The cool liquid suddenly felt like nails scratching her throat and tasted like aluminum with a hint of chlorine. She spit the rest into a open corner of the sink and looked at the glass in disgust. When did the water start tasting like that? She went to the refrigerator and pulled out the kids jug of kool aid. It's got water in it.

With the dishes done and the washer bouncing along with the second load Jenny poured herself another cup of coffee and, even though it was cold, drank it down. Coffee has water in it too. She smiled as she headed to the bathroom with a exaggerated sense of repletion.

Standing in front of the mirror she took a moment to administer another quick pep talk. Holy Oscar the Grouch! Where did those eye brows come from? Jenny ran her ringer across the unruly bunch of newly sprouted follicles. After digging through the medicine cabinet she found a pair of tweezers. On closer inspection, they look like someone used them to scrap the bottom of their shoes off. Ack! She tossed them in the garbage, which is full and quickly expelled the tweezers to the floor. Jenny bends to pick them up and gets a close up view of her legs. More colonies of prickly sprouts have invaded. They seem to sway in the breeze of her sigh. Oh my God. I'm turning into a she wolf.

Jenny finds a barely used razor and does a dry run attack on the more noticeable areas -knee down- and for a second contemplates using it to clean up her brows. The instant image of her Aunt Barbara and her drawn on look of constant amazement stops her. Maybe I can hide them with a little make up.

Back in the bedroom Jenny stands over her husband, snoring contently on the floor, wrapped in fluffy pinkness. He doesn't care if his eye brows are three inches long and are forming their own comb over movement towards a unibrow. The overwhelming urge to throw a cup of water on him overcomes her. Instead she goes to her dresser to matte her brows down with her pastiest concealer. Looking in the mirror, the effect is more like painting a wall beige and leaving the bristles that fell out of the brush behind. GRRR!

"You sound mad." Her husband's groggy voice taunts from behind her.

"Not mad at all. Was just thinking how GRRReat this was going."

"What's for breakfast?"

"Fruit salad." Jenny smiled with one eye on the list. "Making a big salad with dinner too."

Stay positive. You can do this. Jenny repeated as she went back to the kitchen. Stopping in the doorway she had to rub her eyes and look again. The table was filled with tipped boxes of cereal, flakes and puffs mingling beside bowls of left over milk. Cups littered the sink and a trail of red kool aid ran across the floor from the refrigerator. Mouth agape Jenny stood there, her hands slowly finding a perch on her hips.

"Morning Ma. Happy new year." her son gurgled and milk sputtered down his chin. He made no move to wipe it.

"Yeah, HNY." Her daughter mumbled, she sat hunched forward, eyes down, fingers flying furiously across the tiny keyboard of her phone.

Neither child noticed Jenny's expression, her son oblivious to subtleties and her daughter oblivious to anything outside of her phone. Breathe, just relax. If you blow up they're all going to say it's because of your resolutions. She went the fridge, pulled open the fruit drawer. There was one apple and what looked like it could have been a lemon in another life. She grabbed the apple. Well, at least I can count this as another fruit serving. It's kind of big, I'll count it as two.

"Whoa, looks like we still have some cleaning up from last night to do." Her husband said. His voice heavy with what sounded like snark. Jenny looked up, her fingers wrapped tighter around the apple. Should I waste the serving and throw it at him? How could he know the kitchen had already been cleaned before the kids woke up? With the force of a tiger she bit down hard into the apple, her teeth sinking easily through the outer skin and deeper. Her daughter glanced up between texts.

"Wouldn't eat that. The boy played H wit it."

"What is H?" Jenny mumbled. The texture of the apple was changing as she moved it around her mouth. Why is this so mushy?

"Hockey." She said. The duh was implied in her tone. Jenny looked at the uneaten part. It was an odd brown color and had the consistency of chewed baby food.

"OH ACK!" Jenny ran for the garbage.

"Why, why?" Was all could get out.

"I couldn't find any of my pucks yesterday." Her son explained.

"Why would you put it back?"

"You always say don't waste food." His defense was weakening and he sank slightly in his seat.

Jenny looked from him to her daughter, then to her husband. He hid a smirk. She wanted to scream, but that's what he was waiting for. She went to the cabinet, took out the largest glass she could find and filled it with kool aid.

"That's not water." He smiled.

Jenny huffed and stomped out of the room.

"Where are you going?" He called after her.

"For a power nap." She hissed through her teeth.

Inside the bedroom she stood, wielding the permanent marker over the list. With angry slashes she changed Drink 64oz of water to liquid. Completely crossed out the fruits and veggies and because she was on a roll knocked exercise down to 30 minutes.

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Thanks for stopping by for part 2 of The Perfect Resolution. Let me know what you think of it. Be honest, I can take it :)

Thanks,

Kristin : )

* Here's the link to The Perfect Resolution Part 3

40 Posts in 40 Days: The Perfect Resolution Pt.1

We did it! We made it to Friday.

Today's post is for the ladies. Men, feel free to come along for the ride though. It's a fun look at the pressure we put on ourselves as women, as mothers, and as professionals. Imagine all the tips and advice you've ever heard about what it takes to be perfect in today's society. Now imagine fitting all that perfection into 1 day. Bring on the chaos.

The Perfect Resolution

New Year's Day came much sooner than Jenny expected. Her head throbbing from cramming all those last minute no nos in before she began to honor her resolution to be perfect. She looks again at her list, which she had written in permanent marker on her bedroom wall. It seemed like such a good idea last night. Today, it looks like the boy from the shining got in and misspelled REDRUM over and over. As her eyes began to focus she read what would become her road map to perfection.

To be PERFECT I must do the following EVERYDAY:

• DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!
• drink 640z of water
• exercise for 30 - 60 minutes
• 5 servings of fruits & veggies a day
• read & write for 4 hours each (TY Stephen King)
• Sleep for 8-10 hours
• Power nap in afternoon
• Cook healthy meals at home (NO TAKEOUT!)
• Eat dinner as a family (AT THE KITCHEN TABLE!)
• No alcohol, caffeine, or sugar (THINK HEALTHY!)
• Keep up w/house cleaning
• Stay on top of laundry
• get/give at least 6 hugs (TY Becky Sain)
• Take time for you! (YOU DESERVE IT!)
• Finally, when perfection is achieved... repaint bedroom wall!

Jenny stared at the wall until the words began run together into a smeary black mess, or was that her Forever Lash mascara giving up? OK, she thought, so I was little overzealous. All the exclamation marks now looked like daggers. Of course, she wasn't as full of exuberance and cheap champagne as she was when she scrawled this list permanently onto the one unmarked wall in the house.

Oh well, here goes. She rolled out of the warm cocoon she had created with blankets and her husband quickly reeled in the slack around him. Jealously slid over her like a wet snake. Look at him, all snuggled in, not a care in the world. More importantly, not a resolution to uphold. She imagined grabbing the blanket and yanking it out from under him like a magician with a dining table fully set. She resisted, it would only give him a reason to say I told you so.

Jenny squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and looked at the wall again. I can do this. I won't become angry and short tempered. I will show him... I will do this for me. She walked out of the room, pretending every step did not echo through her head like a distant bongo drum.

Ten minutes later Jenny came back in the bedroom with a steaming mug in one hand and a half eaten cheese danish. She picked up the marker, still lying uncapped on the floor, and crossed out No coffee and No sugar.

Let's be reasonable, she told herself. Her husband stirred under the covers. She carefully put the coffee and danish down. Grabbed the thickest bunch of blanket she could fit in her hands and yanked. Her husband rocked slightly, she held tighter and used a foot against his side for leverage. In a fluid motion the blanket unrolled and he dropped off the other side of the bed with a thud.

"What the hell?" Came from the floor.

"Oh, sorry. Were you in there? I'm washing these. You know, staying on top of that laundry." Jenny sang out. With the blankets balled up in her arms she left the room, pausing to grab the danish and shove the rest into her smiling mouth.

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That's it for today. I hope you have enjoyed Part 1 of The Perfect Resolution. I'll post more parts over the next few days. I like things in bite size portions (except chocolate). I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments.

Thanks,

Kristin : )

*Here's an easy link to The Perfect Resolution Part 2