It's a new year, a new day...

It's already been two weeks since the start of 2014, holy moly, 2014!!!  Remember when we stocked up on toilet paper and went into a frenzy at the end of 1999?  It's been 14 years since then.  Time goes crazy fast.  

I don't know about you, but I find the beginning of a New Year to be a bit stressful, with the pressure to come up with a meaningful resolution, or a "word" to focus on throughout the year.  Being diagnosed with the Big C on New Year's Eve two years ago also adds to the dislike. 

I've never been big on making resolutions and this year is no different.  I typically do not make any formal pledges to work on anything...I know, lame! Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of areas I could work on, but I don't vow to resolve them as the new year starts.  It's too much pressure.  I go more for making mental notes of goals I'd like to accomplish and I prefer to go after things on a day to day basis.  So many resolutions are made and broken before the month is over.  Why do we need a new year to motivate us? Let's resolve to improve every day instead.

As we pulled into the YMCA parking lot last week for Little Miss' swim lessons, I said, "Wow, it's crowded here tonight!"

To which she responded with, "It's probably because it's a new year and everyone made a resolution."   

I have no idea where she came up with that, but I chuckled and told her she was probably right. 

Of course a New Year represents a new beginning and a fresh start, but I prefer not to jump on the bandwagon of unkept promises and resolutions. Going after things in smaller chunks works better for me; it's more of a gradual process and transformation as compared to instant changes we pledge to make at the stroke of midnight. 

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.

J. B. Priestley

All photos taken at Lasalette