The New Year by Bea Tifton

 

Ah, the new year is almost upon us. Sadly, we mark another year and go forth into the new one in which the man bun is still an acceptable fashion choice.

Seriously, though. It’s been a year. We’re still battling Covid, supply chain shortages, and war in the Ukraine.  I lost three friends this year, two of them close friends, from  non Covid causes. I ran across the Christmas present I had bought for one of them last week and it made me sad. I lost the sweetest dog I had ever had and two sweet kitties.

But good things happened, too. After a year combining households with my parents, we’ve hit our stride and fallen into a comfortable and pleasant pattern. I recently got a new dog who is still adjusting to being rehomed, but he’s already shown he’s a sweet little guy. And I read many, many great books.

The new year always makes me feel a bit conflicted. I feel sad as I think about some things from the past year, or the things I haven’t accomplished from my List of Things I Should Have Accomplished ( I bet almost all have one of those), but I’m also hopeful as we start a clean slate, a new beginning.

I try not to make New Year’s resolutions. I don’t think I’m very good at keeping them. But I do have goals. I want to lose weight, as most people say in January. But I want to do it to have optimal good health. I’m old enough that I can’t take my body for granted. I don’t plan to go on a diet; I am making what I hope are permanent changes in my lifestyle. 

We don’t usually stay up all night to welcome the new year in my household. I’ve found it comes whether I stay up or not. But, in my neighborhood, people go crazy over fireworks and the occasional gunfire (idiots!).  Since I’m awake, anyway, listening to other people mark the new year, I think I’ll stay up and watch the ball drop.

I live in the Southwest, and in the South most people eat black eyed peas on New Year’s Day. They are supposed to bring luck for the new year.  We always eat them, because, hey, we all need as much luck as we can get. I laugh when I hear people from other parts of the county ask, “What’s the deal with black eyed peas?” Different schools of thought exist as to why. One is that black eyed peas were eaten by slaves and eaten at celebrations for the Emancipation Proclamation that freed enslaved people in the United States. Another is that black eyed peas, generally thought of as cattle food, were among the only crops left to stave starvation during and immediately after the Civil War. The one I like best is that the black eyed peas represent coins, and eating them ensures one will be financially successful. Can’t hurt, and it’s nice to have traditions.

At any rate, the new year is coming. It will bring celebrations and sorrow, happiness and sadness, additions and losses. But it’s a whole new year. A chance to start again in many ways. Without the bad, we wouldn’t appreciate the good. Why not be optimistic and make plans? Why not give closure to 2022 by saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming 2023?

Do you have New Year’s Day traditions or New Year’s resolutions? I hope you have a wonderful, peaceful, and successful new year.

 

Photo Credits: 

Sena "Coffee on Magazine and Calendar on Table"

Messala Ciulla "Notebook with Blank Pages"

Jan Doan "Variety of Food on Wooden Coaster"

Dream Sky "Photography of Fireworks Display"

Belle Co "Silhouette Photography of Group of People Jumping During Golden Time"

Jill Wellington "Happy New Year Text"