New Year's Mania

I admit it. I am a sucker for the whole “New Year” hype that surrounds January 1.

I make resolutions each year, believing that THIS year I will (pick one): loose weight; exercise more; save money; simplify my life; write more; etc, etc, etc.

For a few years, I made my family write down three resolutions and place them in their stockings as we packed up our decorations on New Year’s Day. The plan was to read our notes the following Christmas, when we pulled out the stockings, and see if we had accomplished our goals. (The kids actually enjoyed this at first, but then, when they hit their teen years, it became “lame,” along with pretty much everything else I suggested!)

I look forward to spending the week between Christmas and New Year’s on my couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching the countless year-in-review programs on TV, while reading the numerous “New Year, New You” articles in magazines, pondering how I too will improve myself.

I can’t wait to sit down at the kitchen table on December 26 with my new “At-a-Glance” calendar I receive for Christmas every year (yes, I still use a wall calendar!) and fill in the empty blocks with kid’s schedules, family birthdays and various appointments for the next year.

This task often takes me a few hours, as I flip through the previous 11 calendar pages and reflect on the various events and milestones that occurred in our lives.

I can often be heard muttering such phrases as “Remember when…” or “That was just last year?” or “Can you believe…” to anyone who happens to wander by.

I am not a big fan of New Year’s Eve however for many reasons (not the least of which is that we never really have any plans). I tend to become a bit teary-eyed and nostalgic, waxing poetic to anyone who will listen about another year having gone by in my life that I will never get back (and that’s before I hit the champagne).

I then move on to the year ahead, and contemplate how my life will change and who may or may not be here next December 31 (myself included).

(It just occurred to me why we may never have any plans on New Year’s Eve. I am a bundle of fun, aren’t I?)

January 1 is the start of a new year, whether you celebrate it with a list of resolutions, a blank calendar or simply a hangover. Wishing all a year of good health, peace and contentment.