And that’s a wrap. Another holiday season finished. Such anticipation as I decorated, shopped, baked, attended special events and family gatherings. Then just as suddenly, I wake up on January 2, sick of it all. Everything must go and it must go today.

That feeling of a fresh start brings me to New Year’s Resolutions.

It seems we have the Babylonians to blame for New Year’s Resolutions. During an 11 day feast, they would make promises to their gods (to earn favor), return borrowed items and vow to get out of debt  (The Babylonians and debt, who knew?). The Romans also vowed to be better people while attending wild parties honoring their god, Janus. Leave it to the Puritans to take all the fun out of the event and spend the day quietly reflecting on the past year and looking to the next. (Source: History.com, Howstuffworks.com)

But I must admit, that as I sip the last of the Champagne every New Year’s Eve, I have  mixed feelings of melancholy, panic, gratitude and possibility (I was going to use the word euphoria, but I think that is the Champagne effect).

Melancholy at all that I didn’t do, all that I didn’t say. Not to mention all that I wish I could un-say and un-do. The sense of panic that time is growing short and I need to make things happen. I live in a permanent state of deadline.  

Gratitude  washes over me when I look to the new year and realize that I live in place that allows me unlimited possibilities. Why am I so fortunate? I am no more deserving of my good fortune than others are of the suffering they endure. Consider just one thing: clean water.  In Africa, women and girls spend six hours a day  just fetching water. (Source: the waterproject.org). I don’t mean to get preachy, but my life would be radically changed if that was how I had to spend my day. A reminder that every minute of every good moment in your life is an undeserved blessing.

I always see the first of the year as a clean slate. As Paul and I pack up all the Christmas stuff, clean the guest bedroom, throw out all the leftover spinach dip and holiday treats, it feels like a breath of fresh air has blown through. All things are possible. I wonder what crushes that feeling of possibility as the year wears on? All that could happen in January can still happen in March and September, so why do we mentally and physically feel weighted down and overwhelmed as the year wears on?

Perhaps, just like the runner going at full speed will never make it to the end of the marathon, I sprint out of the new year with an impossible list of goals. Naturally, when this cannot be maintained, I sputter and falter. I feel defeated.

So I suggest that we strike while the iron is hot. If January is when we feel most energized to make changes then so be it.

Do I have a list this year? You bet I do. I won’t bore you with mine.  Every time I hear someone give their resolutions, I think:

1. Mines are lame and selfish.

          OR,

1. Oh, that’s a good one, and add it to my already overly ambitious list.

           OR,

1. Are you serious? Learn Mandarin, hike across America  and save enough money  to retire this year? Good luck with that.

Hey, there’s always next year…..