Back in Black

January 1st is the one day most of the world feels hope. Hope that we can wipe the slate clean and through our own individual resolutions conquer whatever problems plagued us last year. Hope that this year will be the one that changes everything. Hope that people will be kinder, our jobs will be easier, the economy stronger and the world a happier place-we all believe that on this day, change for the better is possible.


I have neglected my blog for a while now. A child, housework, the job, after preschool activities like swimming and ballet have started for my daughter. Everything has to be done and nothing seems to progress except daily living-one day at a time. Looking back a few things have happened that have been good. I now write a column for a small newspaper which reaches about 110,000 people. My husband lost his long time job only to find a better one six months later. My beautiful 13 year-old cat, which is smart enough to hit me with his paw when he wants to be pet (and unfortunately, it comes about when I am already sleeping in bed) was losing weight drastically. I was worried it was kidney or liver failure and it turned out to be a thyroid condition where he just has to take a pill everyday. God was with me on that one. And of course, the best, my daughter is healthy and happy. We take children's health for granted because they are young, but at any moment life has a way of changing. Ask those who have experienced it.

So what are my resolutions? On our way to Canada to see my husband's parents, I wrote in my notebook my resolutions. I separated mine into categories: health, house, financial and of course writing. With each category, I had about five to ten resolutions underneath them. My husband, well, my husband ended up with one and a half. Actually, he made up the half one since I told him one of his resolutions should be not to forget things all the time. He said he's going to check out a book on memory techniques someday from the library. Um, right.

How long will they last? I don't know, but with resolutions we try and we hope and that's all we can do. If we ever stop trying, then we should consider ourselves perfect and frankly, I don't believe that exists in anyone.

So here's to 2010. Where it will lead us, we don't know yet. But just like last year, I will hope that we will all be better by the end of it.