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for the love of a new year

January is my favorite month. I love winter and the hope of snow. I love the end of the hurried holiday season being ushered out by fireworks on January 1st. I love excuses to start over fresh and set newer, better goals. I love my birthday :) I love sharing my birthday month with my sister and my dad. I love new beginnings. I love feeling like anything is possible, and the anticipation of things to come. In January, there's a crisper scent of hope in the air that I look forward to inhaling each year. January has always brought me these things, and I hope it always will.

When I was a kid I would make the B-E-S-T new year's resolutions. I used to make a list of my most heinous vices and swear I'd never commit them again after 12am on 1/1/19--whatever. I'd promise I would be good for the whole year. And after 365 consecutive days of successful bad-behavior-elimination I would be free and clear of ever falling into these traps again. I would be perfect. Perfect. On this list of obvious problems, #1 was NOT that I was never able to accomplish any of this. The biggest, most fundamental problem was I never really thought the process through. So what if I HAD gone a whole year without doing such'n'such? Then what?? Seriously -- what comes next? Life is a series of lessons learned. And in this life, we're never gonna get it all right all the time.

But I still believe in trying.

I'm no longer a maker of new year's resolutions. I don't make them because I know I won't keep them. But I believe in the concept. I believe in making them every day, everytime we fail. I believe in starting over. Every time. I believe in perserverence. I believe in forgiveness each time we mess up.

So I guess if I were to make one resolution on this first day of this new year, it would be this: learn to forgive yourself...it's probably going to be in high demand.

peace be yours in 2007,
emily

Comments

Tanya said…
I heart January, too! Not only because my birthday is in January but because we have several "no school" days and usually some "snow days." :)
John H said…
Peace back at ya, Emily. I think you should resolve to post to your blog more than ONCE A FREAKIN' MONTH!

oh yeah..and Happy New Year!!
John H said…
PS. I am resolving to meet you sometime in 2007 despite what I expect will me Malia's every effort to protect her much younger sister from such a occurrence.
Ramona said…
Hi! Great post, as usual . I'm not a big fan of the winter months, but you have helped me appreciate January a lot more than I did. Thank you and Happy New Year! :), Ramona
Lisa said…
Good post, Emily! I have always enjoyed starting a whole new year, as if the slate had been wiped clean & I got to try to be "good" again. I haven't bothered with new years' resolutions in a long time either. But I agree with your thoughts on making resolutions every time we fail. It was so GREAT to meet you!! I hope John H. gets to meet you soon too. :)
Ellyn said…
I like January only when it snows! This 65-70 degree weather has to go! What are we....in Florida?

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