Fresh Start and New Beginnings

January always brings to mind fresh starts and opportunities, new beginnings and moving past the disappointments from the previous year and attempting, where possible, to correct the whatever and lastly, but more importantly, to acknowledge or thank someone for something every single day.

When reviewing the news from last year, it served as a reminder of those who can no longer share their life with us in the present.  However, we can share in the joy of their accomplishments and what they have contributed to our lives in the form of family, food, fashion, fun, or being female. 

On a personal note, I was told by a beloved family member and much later actually read the same thing that the way you start the beginning of your year is the way you will spend the rest of that year. Hence, I begin my new year with family and friends and have for nearly 30-years.  My New Year’s Eve and the previous two days are spent feeding one of my passions … cooking.  On New Years Day I serve the same menu and make many, many pies to use as gifts. (This year I made 36 pies.)  As family and friends arrive, I request that each child followed by each family select a pie as my gift to them for deciding to begin their year with me, in my home. Any remaining pies will accompany our shared meal as the “grazing” period begins sometime around 1 p.m. Before retirement I rented a moonwalk which was setup in the backyard with easy viewing from a kitchen window and the back patio. One of the men might bring horse shoes or washers to setup near the moomwalk.  Yes, I choose to spend my New Years Day with people that I love, admire, and absolutely enjoy/relish/covet their company. 

How we spend our time and who we spend it with is a choice that I readily make each day and count each person as an added benefit/gift to my life.  We encounter enough that we cannot control both personally and professionally.  I freely admit to loving life and value each part of my life from the gene pool to zip codes. 

This is a new year, so enjoy your life, make an appointment with yourself to have fun, and exercise wisdom to make choices that create value to your life and the lives that you impact or encounter each day in 2013.  Share yourself.