happy.new.year

I'm taking my own advice. About replacement dates, that is.

January 1st is not my favorite day. Too many childhood memories of the annual potluck dinner at Baguleys, filled with food that I didn't like and the TV blaring football, football, football.

Then there's the whole "Happy New Year" thing--resolutions, goals, this huge 365-day blank slate to fill with more and greater accomplishments. I'm tired before I even start.

This year, I'm taking it one step at a time.

Happy. Yes--I am. Lots of reasons to be happy, but here are a couple. Bruce and I ran in the One One Run. Together. It was his first official "run". And in Bruce's words, he exceeded his goal. Which was to run 2.2 miles in the time it took Big Daddy Wilkinson to run the Chicago Marathon. Here's another reason to be happy. I spent time with my friend, Sharon, playing piano (me) and cello (her). We made it through our first run of Kol Nidrei. Yes, we've got a lot of work before it appears effortless--but the potential is definitely there. So here's resolution #1: find one thing to be happy about each day.

New. I'll have a lot of new experiences this year. Some will be great and others will be painful. The great thing about it is that new = learning. And I hope I never get too old for that! Resolution #2: open myself more to new things instead of clinging to the familiar.

Year. A year consists of 365 days. Rather than taking them all at once and feeling overwhelmed, I'm going to enjoy the journey this year. Resolution #3: live more in the moment. Not in the past, not in the future. But here and now, with the people I love. Of which (or is it of whom?) there are many.

Oh. So how does the replacement date come in? If there's a day that isn't your favorite, for whatever reason (mine being the dreaded annual New Year's Day potluck), take charge. Create new memories to push the old ones back in the card catalog of your memory.

Bundle up and run a One One Run. Schedule a date with a friend. You'll be glad you did!