The New Year

What is black, blue, purple, and green? The answer? My eye. The left one to be precise. I wish I had some valiant tale of rescuing my darling JB from distress or even saving a kitten stuck in a tree, but alas, All I have is the truth. And the truth is….. I have no idea what I hit my face on.

I had the opportunity to surprise my JB on New Year’s Eve and I got to stay for 5 days. I had a wonderful visit except for one brief instant. That instant would be when I took off running in my sleep and tripped over a space heater, burning my leg, and coloring my eye. Now I haven’t slept walked since the embarrassing incident when I was 8 years old and “thought” I was in the restroom, but for some strange reason I spent two nights prowling their house.

The first night I ended up in her roommate’s room on the floor with the heater on my leg and a goose egg on my eyebrow. Fortunately she wasn’t home or I would have scared her to death. The second night I woke up in the kitchen sweeping the floor. Well if I am going to sleepwalk, at least I can get some chores done at the same time. But what really distresses me is the fact that if I am going to be working in my sleep, at least I could sweep my own floors. All this to say that in some ways my new year didn’t start off in the best way. But on the other hand, the visit was wonderful and just what I needed.

So here I am home again, feeling a little lonesome, and looking at the new year spreading out before me. I used to make resolutions every year and never followed through with them. Then the last few years, the only resolution I made was to NOT make resolutions and I kept that one fairly well. I used to think that resolutions were silly and unnecessary and setting myself up to fail, but now I am beginning to understand the place the yearly promises have.

The start of a new year is such a great time to reflect on the year past and plan for the new. Maybe it isn’t the perfect execution of the promises made, maybe it is the soul searching that is so very important. The time taken to stop and think about where we are in life and of ways to improve our lives. It is taking that time to look and see where we have fallen short and where we have gone above and beyond the call. It is a great time to say thank you for all your blessings and pray for all the hurts and pains. It is a time of renewal.

And what a wonderful time of the year for this starting over. Jan 1st is in the cold winter months, when the Earth lies dormant and all outward signs of life are carefully hidden. The chance to start again, even in the dark days of winter, especially in the dark days of winter, is a gift we give ourselves.

So I guess I like New Year Resolutions. I like the chance to start afresh. I like the introspection and the planning for the new year. So maybe I will make a resolution. I resolve to give myself permission to start over fresh, just like the New Year.