As we bid farewell to the very challenging year of 2016, it is now time to move on and look forward with cautious but up-beat optimism to the arrival of 2017.
At this point, we should proudly consider ourselves as ‘survivors.’ But no matter how it went during the last 365 days, we can now start making plans and resolutions for a new exciting adventure to unfold from January to December.
It should always be our best wishes and hopes that our younger generation will be encouraged to pursue every dream and opportunity in the New Year and that all families will strive to set and achieve their goals together. For those of us who are seniors, we should make every effort to relax and have some fun (at our pace and our choice), while being very proud of what we have accomplished over all those wild, wonderful and sometimes wacky years.
A fun list of New Year’s resolutions and wishes
During the various phases of our lives, we have promised on Jan. lst that we will quit smoking, lose weight, save money, stop swearing and all the rest of those old stand-by resolutions that may or may not last until spring. We should never be too hard on ourselves when it comes to those age-old wishes to be just a little bit better and sweeter each year, but if we can succeed to even improve on one or two of the promises that are most important to us and then we can feel real good about ourselves with cheers from our family and friends.
When many of us jump on the scales, we will likely realize that we need to be eating healthier, but first we likely need to eat all the junk food in the house so that there won’t be any temptations to cheat. I would really like to grow my own food but I can’t find bacon seeds.
We need to ignore our critics and snobs. If they confront us, we should politely ask them what their secret is to being perfect and then smile, suggest that they try and have a nice day, then walk away singing.
An old friend told me the other day that we should try to do something different every day. He also insisted that we should all have a bucket list of travels, adventures and favourite special things that we would like to do ourselves or with family and friends while we are still able. We should look forward to making new friends, but also enjoy staying in touch with the ones who have always been loyal and true through the good times and bad.
My dear Dad, who just passed away at the age of 97, always insisted that we should try to wake up happy every morning because each day is a blessing and a bonus to share with others for the rest of our lives.
We must never be afraid to relive our child-hood, to occasionally unleash the angel in us, to be a little cheeky, to tell or play a good joke and to feel real good about helping others and laughing along with everyone until our tummies hurt.
Let’s all try to have a favourite hobby for a cold or rainy day and it doesn’t really matter what it is, as long as it is your favourite extra casual pastime. My hobby is writing stories about our community, people, history and events which I will keep on doing as long as my fingers can find the right keys and it has a happy ending.
I think that tossing and turning and trips to the bathroom at night should be considered as exercise.
A very Happy New Year to everyone, and may 2017 find our waistlines slimmer, our wallets fatter, our cholesterol lower, and our tolerance and ‘being nice’ levels be a whole lot higher.
Have a great week, all of you.