Tag: New Year

So it’s 2017…

Firstly, Happy New Year! Whether you’re a follower, reader or passerby then thank you. And the customary first day of the year greeting to you.

happy-new-year

Personally I find celebrating New Year a bit odd, even more so as I get older. People attach so much importance to it, but it’s just another day. The calendar moves on but a new year has no real significance, apart from that which people load on themselves. “New Year, New Me” is such a bold, but often unattainable, statement and I think that this is the worst time of year to make resolutions for change.

When I was a little girl my grandparents on my Mom’s side always had a party at their house on New Years Eve, which was also their wedding anniversary. And, come 12 o’clock, we’d gather in a circle, hands crossed, and sing Auld Langs Syne and my Mom would invariably shed a few tears. I never understood why, I was always excitable to be wearing party clothes (I remember a pair of wine coloured velvet pedal pushers with bracers being a particular favourite). But with age comes experience and understanding of love, life and loss. And enjoyment can take a back seat.

Here are the thoughts I shared on Facebook as the clock struck 12.

“Many people see a New Year as a new beginning, but it isn’t really…it’s just a continuation in life’s journey, with the other passengers in our lives. And we need to care for those passengers; be kind, be thoughtful, treat them well and look after them, whilst realistically expecting them to do the same for us. And some passengers won’t be there always, but the good ones who’ve touched our hearts will stay there forever.”

That said, whether New Year holds any significance to you or not, I hope 2017 is a good one for you and yours, and that you achieve things you hope to achieve.

Lots of love, and thanks, as always, for reading! x

 

 

 

New Year’s Resolutions

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I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions. I think January is a difficult enough time without depriving yourself of something you enjoy (which is generally what resolutions amount to).

New Year's Resolutions

I mean, I’ve just enjoyed 10 days off work eating and drinking and making merry and now it’s January, it’s cold and dark, all the fun bits have gone and there’s nothing to look forward to until Spring. Why would I make that worse by not having a biscuit or a glass of wine? (I’ve had neither today, yet).

I also don’t see the point in setting goals that you know you might fail at, which will then just make you feel crap for being rubbish. Again, why?

Cutting things out can’t lead to anything good. I did dry January once and the first time I had a drink at the end of it I was pissed and asleep on my friend’s sofa within about an hour.

And just the word – resolution – it sounds so harsh and severe!

Having said that, after all the indulgence of the festive period, I am usually pretty ready to start eating more healthily and generally not being as much of a glutton. And I certainly need to lose a few pounds which steadily crept on last year, because I threw caution to the wind from about October onwards!

I do have some “good intentions” which are more around personal experience and comfort than changing myself, but they’re evolutionary processes rather than new starts. Such as cutting down the amount of clothes I own (which I’ve been doing for about, oh I dunno, 5 years now). Wasting less time on mindless stuff on my phone when I could be reading a book (I had some corkers for Christmas). Things that are achievable and can be done bit by bit instead of being a major life change.

And if I do need to do something huge, or cut something out, or do something new, then I’ll do it quietly and in my own way and time, rather than making a big public declaration and then falling on my ass when I fail (notice I say when, not if!)

Today’s achievement – getting out of bed, getting to work on time and surviving the day. That’s harder than eating less than 1500 calories, not having a glass of wine or avoiding the biscuit tin for sure!

Have you made any NewYear’s resolutions?

Thanks, as always, for reading!

5 things about 2015

Firstly, Happy New Year! Hope you had a good one welcoming it in whatever way you chose.

I meant to post this yesterday but got distracted by procrastinating doing…er…nothing…so although it’s now 2016 and technically I should be looking forward and not backwards, well, tough!

Goodbye 2015

So I woke up yesterday morning wondering how come I was in bed (I got very very drunk on New Years Eve Eve) and whether I was in trouble with the husband for being a pissed up handful (I wasn’t) and between the drunken confusion and not being able to sleep because my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, I spent a few minutes thinking back about the year and the things that defined it.

So, here they are!

  1. Family. I’m very lucky to be very close to both of my parents. They divorced when I was 21 and I’ve been through bad times with both of them, but we came through the other side. They’re always there for me and, because I’m an only child, they have no-one to compare me to so they think I’m great (kinda kidding here). And, you know, family is so important. My mother-in-law is an amazing woman and I know that when we’re in her company we’ll always have fun. My extended family are fun and close knit and there are times in the past when I haven’t made the most of them. Time is limited and precious and I don’t want to regret not making the most of my folks so in 2015 I consciously spent more time with them, and will continue to do so this year.
  2. My job. I’ll never be defined by my career because I’m strictly of the mindset “work to live” and always have been. But this year I got made redundant (which is cool because I was semi-looking around anyway) and I now work for a company that makes a difference to people’s lives. The ethos is very different to my previous role and I never want to go back to that corporate money making bullshit I was in before; where lies and bad morals are acceptable just to make a buck for the fat cat owners. Plus I get that warm fuzzy feeling hearing first hand from people who’s lives are literally changed. It’s good.
  3. This blog. I started this blog on the day I got made redundant; a knee jerk reaction to change and the thought that I might have a lot of time on my hands! And it’s been great! I wanted to start a blog for a really long time and never got round to it, and I wish I’d done it years ago. I love the writing process, I love the interaction with other people, I love having an outlet that’s mine. Long may it continue.
  4. My hair! Screw the deep and meaningful stuff, my hair has been a pain in the ass for the past year. Totes my own fault for cutting it off, but I needed to do it and scratch an itch and have now learnt my lesson. It’s long all the way from now on! (well, when it finally gets there).
  5. Not seeing friends. Back to the serious stuff. The husband and I totally overcommitted last year, in between holidays, and festivals and weekends away, and other plans. Great as it sounds, we didn’t nurture the core stuff. Friends we haven’t seen enough of. Birthdays missed. Presents not exchanged. Spending 3 weekends in a row in different hotels in different parts of the country because of gigs and weddings and trips. Something to change this year.

So, a retrospective, an introspective, and a goodbye to last year.

How was yours?

Thanks, as always, for reading! x