Birthdays and New Beginnings

Besides being Easter, last week was my birthday week. I did way too many things (which wouldn’t seem like much for most people, but it was for me), ate too much, talked a lot and really enjoyed it. 

When I finally got a chance to catch my breath from all the hijinks, I had time to reflect. Another trip around the sun, and another beginning—New Year’s all over again. 

Aside from my plans to work on year 27 again (if I keep trying, I’m bound to get it right sooner or later), I’m also revisiting my New Year’s resolutions. 

In my humble opinion, the spirit of renewal is wasted having it only once a year. What kind of timing is that to make life changing goals and decisions—Right after Christmas, where we’re still bogged down by too much cheese and Baileys (or Newfoundland slush for the adventurous ones). We are expected to go out to all hours of the night on December 31, ringing in the New Year with bubbly and lord knows what else? And then, bright and early on January 1, we pop out of bed to begin our fool-proof exercise program.

What if we are … ahem … too tired to start it that day? Is the resolution useless? Unobtainable? Have we failed before we even got started?

I'm all for resolutions and goal setting. It’s the only way I ever get anything done. But have you noticed how quickly our focal points can change, even in the first four months of the year.

If you’re a resolution maker, you might be into following the trend of setting ‘x’ number of goals based on the number of the year (like 25 goals for 2025).  I recently discovered my ’22 for 22’ list. I’d only managed to write down 13 things. Nothing is crossed off and looking back, I can see that I only achieved two goals: the trip to Newfoundland with my hubby which happened that fall and publishing Jewels, which happened in 2024, not 2022. Everything else is still a work in progress or has fallen off my radar completely.