So long, farewell

Whew, we made it. As the last few hours of 2005 fly by, I can almost hear the collective sigh of relief. Another holiday season is behind us. No more cookies to bake, houses to clean, presents to buy. 2006 is around the corner - a clean slate.

Now is the time to sit back and reflect on a year gone by. We can smile and cherish those special moments - the trips we took, the time spent with friends, the holidays with family. And we can wave at our troubles in the rear-view mirror as we head into a new year. Because we believe, of course, that 2006 will be different. This year, we'll keep those resolutions we made. We'll have time to do all those things we missed out on in 2005. We won't get sucked into the old routine.

I am always amazed at the tendency of humans to celebrate this completely human-developed phenomenon as though it IS a time of new beginnings. It is no wonder we have such trouble keeping our resolutions - there is no tangible difference between today and tomorrow. I think it is the lack of physical change that makes it so difficult to follow through with all those good intentions we call New Year's Resolutions.

But yet, I think the New Year's celebration is an extremely important one for people. It allows us the chance to make a new beginning - to move on from a blemished past and look ahead to a future full of hope, promise, and opportunity. It is like collective mulligan for the human race. And there is a real psychological significance to that.

So, what are MY resolutions? What am I going to pledge to change for 2006? That, my friends, will be fodder for another entry.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!