The new year had arrived and the day after the ball dropped in Times Square we were packing the car and heading home as our holiday visit drew to an end and it was time to say good-bye. I made a resolution not to cry as I hugged my son and we quickly got the dreaded moment over with to try to avoid feeling sad. It was only the second day of the new year and I broke my resolution as I felt the tears falling down my cheeks. We stopped at the Duncan Donuts not far from our son's apartment and while Kevin ran out to get our coffee I found myself laughing despite the tears. Others were parking their cars and getting coffee on their way to work and I imagined the vision they were seeing as they looked into our car windows. They probably thought we were travelling hoarders as I glanced at our crammed car with suitcases, christmas gifts we received, our dog and then of course me crying.
2016 was a year that I could not have imagined. Kevin and I are still in shock and were discussing this on both the trip to New York and home that if someone had told us New Year's Eve last year we would be relocating from Queens New York to Suwanee Georgia we would have told them they were nuts.
This is now the reason I no longer make resolutions for life truly is a surprise.
As our drive continued despite the gray rainy sky dawn was beginning and it was bright enough for me to open the new journal calendar book I received for Christmas. I always get excited when I see things like blank computer screens to type thoughts so holding this book with 365 new possibilities had my enthusiasm soaring. As I turned the pages of this new canvas I noticed it included a section with questions geared to guide us to think of goals, hopes and dreams for the year. I reached down to where my pocketbook which just like the car was crammed with mouthwash, device chargers and the dog dish which could not fit anywhere else to dig out a pen to answer some of the questions to make the ride go faster.
Question number one...How do you imagine your life to be 20 years from now? Below the question were lines to be filled out for the answer with the words dream, hope and goal.
Well, the answer to dream was a cinch as I was sitting in the cramped car. I dream of being rich and famous and one day travelling in a huge winnebago while vacationing versus sitting Indian style in a Mazda for two days.
My answer to the line that started with hope was to be healthy so I will enjoy the journey.
In answer to the word goal it was to be enthusiastic and to promise to find something to joke about every day of the journey to the age of 77. More importantly I am visioning a much longer journey so can we change the question to my image of my life 40 years from now?
In my opinion questions like these are dreams. Nothing in life is promised no matter how much we want them to be. Yes they can come true with hard work and dedication and we do have to stay positive and have goals and steps to try to reach them. We must always stay filled with hope but we cannot crumble when the journey is met with dark clouds which we all know at some point will.
As I am typing this I glance at my dog who was scratching her ear and got her paw stuck in her hair. She was limping on three legs and as I jumped off of my chair to help her from either breaking her leg or worse her neck she nipped me. No, I cannot make this stuff up. Life truly is one joke after another but the good news is she untangled herself with no visits to the vet necessary.
The lesson, no matter what the situation things work out
I dont know about you but I am kind of glad that I don't know what spontaneous moments await me. When we lose our sense of wonder life can become dull.
Many people feel sad when the Christmas holiday is over and the decorations must come down. Honestly today I need to keep my resolution of finding a joke for what was once a beautiful view my living room now has a drooping Christmas tree with dry needles all over along with two dead poinsettia plants. There must have been a storm while we were away as the garland on my balcony is dangling over the ledge. I am trying not to feel overwhelmed as I see the stack of mail, the huge pile of gifts to be put away not to mention twelve days of laundry resting against the washing machine.
Each blank square in this new calendar journal has a good-bye at the stroke of midnight and I have absolutely no idea the memory that each one will have. Life truly is a series of hello's and good-bye's. But honestly good-byes really are nothing more than doors closing to welcome new ones to enter. Laughter keeps us from being afraid and hopefully for me today, overwhelmed.
Joking and laughter are powerful tools especially when dealing with sad good-byes. Despite what some may think I do shed tears like I did on the second day of my failed resolution. As the trip continued i reached for my sense of humor as we drove through the raindrops. I will also keep my spirits merry and bright as I dismantle the pine mess and take down the blinking lights.
My mantra for the year: There are no good-byes that cannot be improved by laughter. Even in the darkest times I will always try to remember the good times.
This trip was filled with so many happy moments.
While I hope you do not experience many sad good-byes if you do find yourself faced with some I pray they will be brief and I hope you will take my advice. It really is not a bad idea at all to ditch the word resolution as your goal for the year and change it to joke.
Each day is a new beginning. Make a resolution to embrace the adventure to the next twenty, thirty or better yet forty years searching for a good joke. And when you do please share it with me.
Happy 2017
2016 was a year that I could not have imagined. Kevin and I are still in shock and were discussing this on both the trip to New York and home that if someone had told us New Year's Eve last year we would be relocating from Queens New York to Suwanee Georgia we would have told them they were nuts.
This is now the reason I no longer make resolutions for life truly is a surprise.
As our drive continued despite the gray rainy sky dawn was beginning and it was bright enough for me to open the new journal calendar book I received for Christmas. I always get excited when I see things like blank computer screens to type thoughts so holding this book with 365 new possibilities had my enthusiasm soaring. As I turned the pages of this new canvas I noticed it included a section with questions geared to guide us to think of goals, hopes and dreams for the year. I reached down to where my pocketbook which just like the car was crammed with mouthwash, device chargers and the dog dish which could not fit anywhere else to dig out a pen to answer some of the questions to make the ride go faster.
Question number one...How do you imagine your life to be 20 years from now? Below the question were lines to be filled out for the answer with the words dream, hope and goal.
Well, the answer to dream was a cinch as I was sitting in the cramped car. I dream of being rich and famous and one day travelling in a huge winnebago while vacationing versus sitting Indian style in a Mazda for two days.
My answer to the line that started with hope was to be healthy so I will enjoy the journey.
In answer to the word goal it was to be enthusiastic and to promise to find something to joke about every day of the journey to the age of 77. More importantly I am visioning a much longer journey so can we change the question to my image of my life 40 years from now?
In my opinion questions like these are dreams. Nothing in life is promised no matter how much we want them to be. Yes they can come true with hard work and dedication and we do have to stay positive and have goals and steps to try to reach them. We must always stay filled with hope but we cannot crumble when the journey is met with dark clouds which we all know at some point will.
As I am typing this I glance at my dog who was scratching her ear and got her paw stuck in her hair. She was limping on three legs and as I jumped off of my chair to help her from either breaking her leg or worse her neck she nipped me. No, I cannot make this stuff up. Life truly is one joke after another but the good news is she untangled herself with no visits to the vet necessary.
The lesson, no matter what the situation things work out
I dont know about you but I am kind of glad that I don't know what spontaneous moments await me. When we lose our sense of wonder life can become dull.
Many people feel sad when the Christmas holiday is over and the decorations must come down. Honestly today I need to keep my resolution of finding a joke for what was once a beautiful view my living room now has a drooping Christmas tree with dry needles all over along with two dead poinsettia plants. There must have been a storm while we were away as the garland on my balcony is dangling over the ledge. I am trying not to feel overwhelmed as I see the stack of mail, the huge pile of gifts to be put away not to mention twelve days of laundry resting against the washing machine.
Each blank square in this new calendar journal has a good-bye at the stroke of midnight and I have absolutely no idea the memory that each one will have. Life truly is a series of hello's and good-bye's. But honestly good-byes really are nothing more than doors closing to welcome new ones to enter. Laughter keeps us from being afraid and hopefully for me today, overwhelmed.
Joking and laughter are powerful tools especially when dealing with sad good-byes. Despite what some may think I do shed tears like I did on the second day of my failed resolution. As the trip continued i reached for my sense of humor as we drove through the raindrops. I will also keep my spirits merry and bright as I dismantle the pine mess and take down the blinking lights.
My mantra for the year: There are no good-byes that cannot be improved by laughter. Even in the darkest times I will always try to remember the good times.
This trip was filled with so many happy moments.
While I hope you do not experience many sad good-byes if you do find yourself faced with some I pray they will be brief and I hope you will take my advice. It really is not a bad idea at all to ditch the word resolution as your goal for the year and change it to joke.
Each day is a new beginning. Make a resolution to embrace the adventure to the next twenty, thirty or better yet forty years searching for a good joke. And when you do please share it with me.
Happy 2017
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