The Next Year

As I sit here writing this, It's almost midnight. Midnight on New Years Eve. Jason is asleep next to me, and tired as I am sleep eludes me. We have to get up early to go to the Outback Bowl tomorrow so we didnt make plans. But it's so close to the new year I might as well stay awake to see it arrive.

I'm not a New Years Resolution maker. I'm more of a birthday change kind of person. I set my goals, my resolutions, on my birthday instead of on the date the calendar turns a year older.

But still, there's something special about the freshness and hope of a new year. A year when the possibilities are endless - 365 days of wonder laid out before us. We start with the best intentions - changing our diets, exercise and sleep patterns. Reconnecting with old friends, making coffee dates with new ones. Doing that one thing we have always wanted to try. And somewhere in there, the newness fades, as does our resolve. What changes? Is it life wearing us down? Obligations? Stress? Do we have so much on our plates that a year can pass without us noticing? Suddenly we're a year older and we still haven't done or seen or experienced what we wanted to. Life is a burden instead of a joy. So we resolve again next year - I will do it this time. And another year passes. Again.

Life can be an extraordinary if you let it.

So this year, resolve to make time for a few items on your bucket list. Life is precious. Time is fleeting. Go do it NOW, before you can't. Commit to giving time to yourself instead of to one more obligation/committee/charity.

And make 2013 the best one yet.

God Bless You. Happy New Year my friends.