thank goodness for the new year...

Save for the glittering hope of Jesus on Christmas, the home stretch of December is usually a dark one, and this year so far hasn't failed me in that respect. I have always loved New Year's Eve celebrations, ever since I was a little kid, and even more so when a NYE kiss brought me and Kyle back together. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that my birthday is exactly two weeks from January 1st and I looooove birthdays, especially mine, and also because I love the idea that you can start over, that one can spend those dark, cold days reflecting on a year of blessings, mistakes, laughter, tears, and figure out what can be improved upon.

I am sad when I encounter people who indignantly say, "I made a resolution to never make any more resolutions and it's the only one I've kept!" because I see hope in the new year, in the renewing of promises to yourself, ones that just maybe, this year, will be the year. I love making resolutions and try to do short-term ones throughout the year so as to not get bogged down by unrealistic ones. Last year my resolution was to do a triathlon and to my astonishment actually finished, wasn't the last person across the line, and contracted the "tri-bug" that people talk about and want to do another next year, maybe two. Turning 25 this past year also had a significant impact on me, and I resolved to become more independent. While I think I have come a long way, I know I still have a long way to go, and it's all about the baby steps.

I read somewhere recently that it is far more difficult to not achieve your goals than it is to go out and do them. So if you're scrooging on the resolutions thing, I would encourage you to sit down and be realistic with yourself and find a goal to strive towards. The important thing to do I think is to come up with ideas of things that could get in your way and then problem solve how to get around them so that when the first one comes up you don't give up altogether. There were several times that I skipped workouts but the fact that I had told lots of friends and family that I was doing a triathlon sobered me up and kept me going because I didn't want to be that girl, the one who said a lot but never actually did anything.

And hey, maybe if you come up with something and you have a blog, you could post your goal and we could all support each other in our endeavors. I still have to narrow mine down, so I'll be posting January 1st. Anyone with me?