I’m writing to you this morning from my old chair beside the woodstove - with coffee, of course.
It’s the first morning of the New Year.
The early sun is piercing through the mist coming off of the creek out back – it’s cold outside.
Squinting and looking into the sun through old Manitoba maples, I’m content and thankful to be inside away from the frigid air outside – the kind that makes it hard to breathe.
It was a quiet celebration last night.
The ball at Times Square and the traditional, local blasting off of shotguns at midnight all happened while I was snug and warm in my bed
Why is this morning any different from any other?
The counting of days and months, pages of a paper calendar, inform us of the passage of time.
Flip the page.
In my younger years, it seemed important to dress up and party at Christmas and New Year’s.
Maybe I had too much of a good thing - overdid it because these days (years) I’m quite content to quietly observe.
Without sounding like a bitter, brittle old bitch and remembering how wretched I felt the morning after the night before, I can’t fathom the hype and excess of it all anymore.
New Year’s for me now is a time of reflection of what’s passed, what I’ve accomplished (or not) and a time to take stock and plan on what I want and the direction I want for myself and my world.
I have moments of missing family members that have gone on, personal regrets etc. but they're fleeting because I know that everyday is a new beginning – a new chance.
Every morning is New Year’s morning regardless of what the calendar says.
I despise and resent the word “resolution.”
Instead, I choose the word “intention.”
This word allows a little more leeway and flexibility for a frail human nature – a little gentler, if you will.
This day and every day that follows is a blessing to rise up and start anew.
I intend on this New day of this New year to expect wonderful and miraculous things.
My old calendar is written proof of all the great things that happened in the last 12 months.
And as I put up a new one I can hardly wait to start jotting down and making notes of all the exciting things to come.
All my best to you all xxx