Happy New Year

by
Suzann Darnall

Still not in a political frame of mind. So, thought I'd talk a little bit about ushering in a new year. The celebrations, beginnings, and resolutions that seem to go hand in hand with New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

We do not generally go much in for New Year's Eve parties. It wasn't a big thing when I was growing up and got sidelined when my husband and I were first married, 'cause he usually pulled New Year's duty, so he could have Christmas off. As we've gotten older it has become an even rarer thing for us to even go anywhere on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Mostly 'cause of all the drunk drivers out-n-about. We figure it is just lots safer to stay home, watch some sports events, and celebrate quietly. I do sometimes resent that my life is somewhat restricted by such rampant stupidity as holiday drunk drivers. But, better my resentment than my funeral, right?

I do like the idea of starting a new year with sort of a clean slate. My own little private acknowledgement and celebration of this is to buy new calendars. I always get a "Star Trek" calendar for hanging next to my computer. I am an old time trekkie, so it is always Kirk, Spock, and the gang, usually from the original television series. One of our Christmas traditions is that I also get calendars for my daughters. My oldest daughter always gets one with pictures of Mustangs/Wild Horses and my youngest always gets "Gone with the Wind." I also get me a couple of other calendars to hang on walls.

I used to get a wall calendar for tracking all of the family activities, but I am trying to move a little further into the 21st century, so I am using my iPhone and iPad reminders app for listing all those things I used to put on the calendar. So far it's working.

But, I also like a wall calendar out in my sewing room. I make quilts, sometimes for clients, and it helps to have a calendar to immediately look at to figure when I might be able to work in a new project and when it will probably be finished. Sort of old school, but then again, so it quilting.

And, finally, I like a small wall calendar hanging next to my bed. One that has the phases of the moon on the dates. It is a nice little reminder of where we are in the month. If I need to go out to look at a pretty full moon. Things of a somewhat inconsequential nature. But, stuff I like to know.

I am not a person for making New Year's resolutions. I was amused and a tad disgusted to hear a blurb on the radio about celebrities making New Year's resolutions for their pets. I'm not sure what disgusted me more: that celebrities were actually making resolutions for animals or that any news outlet was reporting on it! I mean honestly, how inane can you get?

However, though I don't do a list or make a pronouncement, I do kind of quietly in my mind and heart resolve to try to be a better person this year than I was last year. But, then again, I try to resolve to do that each and every day. To be a little more who I should be. I even ask the Lord to help me be a better person. So, I think I got it covered without the elaborate New Year's resolution hoopla.

I guess it comes down to me really liking some things about the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day traditions, but not liking others. I do like the kiss at midnight. I don't like the drunks. I love a lazy day watching sports. I'm not a fan of the guilt from breaking a resolution. I think I will resolve once again this year to throw out the bad, keep the good, and move forward with another year of life, love, and laughter!

May the Lord bless you and yours this holiday season and into the new year. Let's make 2012 count for something amazing! Let us use the upcoming elections to clean out houses from local to national and get control of our government back into the hands of sensible conservatives!

Oh, okay. So maybe I am feeling a little bit political!

© Suzann C. Darnall, DECEMBER 2011