Thursday Tidbits
Posted on January 3, 2019 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet
Au Revoir to Christmas 2018
Reflections.
I am writing this post on New Year’s Day. Mercifully, I’m not hungover. I took care of that eight years ago, one New Year’s resolution that I have actually honored. I didn’t see many people out doing a 10K walk at 6:00 a.m. this morning!
Today is a day when many people look backwards and forward at the same time.
I attended a very civilized, low keyed New Year’s Eve potluck. There’s was lots of discussion about politics, pipelines and POTUS. A few of us, who had logged over 22K of walking that day, chose not to stay around and play games. We did, however, ring in the New Year but we cheated a bit. We decided to go with Nova Scotia time and clinked our glasses at the stroke of 8:00 p.m. Pacific time. This is a sure sign of aging when you have a pretend New Year’s Eve so that you can get home and under the covers long before the fireworks begin. The definition of boring!
We did stick around long enough to play one simple game. What was your most memorable event of 2018? It didn’t have to be necessarily good or bad but merely the one thing that stood out in 2018. I thought about the amazing job that our small community did in hosting the National Special Olympics last summer. That was unquestionably a high point for Antigonish but the question posed was more about personal highs and lows.
One of the people in the room had authored a prize winning scholarly book. Hint – it wasn’t me! Another couple who have one child felt the pains of watching their daughter go off to university in Montreal. There were lots of other interesting observations. When it came my turn, I didn’t have to think for even a second. Our mother’s passing on May 17th was a seminal event for the family. The memory of that time (and there were plenty of them) that will remain with me forever was singing one of mom’s favourite songs, “Abide With Me” along with my seven siblings at her funeral.
So, how about you? Can you easily pinpoint the highlight or lowlight of the year just passed?
Have you trotted out your resolutions for 2019? If it’s doing something about your waste line (pun intended), that doesn’t count. On this day, there is plenty of self- loathing going around. Too much food, too much drink, and credit cards that are too hot to the human touch. I implore you. DO NOT get on a bathroom scale today. You will hate yourself and will probably kick that scale around the bathroom floor, realizing that it has played a cruel trick on you. We’ll all self-regulate in the days to come and return to some semblance of normalcy, whatever in the hell that is.
There will be lineups at gyms and yoga studios for the next month and slowly but surely the old habits will creep back in unless you are supremely disciplined and determined. Treadmills in your basement will once again occupy their rightful places as convenient locales to hang laundry on the handrails. These same treadmills will become a common item at the curb in the summer during yard sale season.
Am I suggesting that you are spineless, lacking a shred of willpower? Not at all. I am just an observer of the human condition. It was Robbie Burns who said, “The best-laid plans of mice and men go awry.”
What will you do to make the world a better place this year?
All the best in the year ahead.
P.S. Thankfully our apartment is too small for a treadmill. That’s why I find walking a very reasonable and cost effective alternative!
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