Not a Bad Start

 Over the course of four decades, I've read a lot of books, and in so doing, have come across (and retained) a lot of interesting information and phrases. Pretty much all of them very old-timey or British in origin, and I've got a  weird-ass habit of dropping a lot of them into my everyday conversation, much to the amusement and sometimes bewilderment of my friends and colleagues. 

One of my favorite expressions is, "Be careful what you do in the New Year, because that's what you'll do all year." It's a silly superstition, for sure; also, rather quaint. Hell if I can remember where I picked this up from, or even if it's a legit superstition (as opposed to something some fiction writer made up, all rando and willy-nilly like.) However, I've used this expression for a good long while now, and you know, it must have taken root, because last night, when conversing with my friend Brian about my plans for the New Year (spoiler alert: I Stayed The Fuck At Home), he chuckled and said, "Well, what you do in the New Year is what you'll do all year." 

Huh. What do you know? People actually listen to me sometime. 

Anyway, I do subscribe to this superstition, even if only because it encourages deliberate and mindful choices about how I spend my time and my energy. And this rather bodes well for the year ahead. I spent my New Year in the following lovely ways: 

• Chatting with friends and loved ones on the phone and Facebook and Google Hangouts and Skype, trying to consciously cultivate a warm and loving support network
• Gazing out at the spookily foggy weather

• Making a delicious breakfast casserole and sharing some with my downstairs neighbor (thanks again, Brandi, from saving me from eating all of it! PS--the leftovers maybe taste even better, especially with hot sauce and a dollop of sour cream) 

 

• Brainstorming ideas to further grow my eldest sister's YouTube channel
• Cuddling with my cats
• Spending some time pondering both the past year and the year upcoming with a tarot spread

• And otherwise just generally enjoying a cozy, quiet day in my home. The pandemic continues on, and I know it will be many more months before enough of us are vaccinated to really resume something akin to life like it was in The Before Times. But the turning of the year somehow kicked me into a place of hope. I feel like once we are over the entirely predictable winter surge, we'll be in a better place and can really move forward. The end is far, far away, but it is in sight. 
• So, the most important things that I did today, that I will hopefully do all year? I behaved responsibly, and I cultivated hope, and I remained safe. Stay strong, folks, and cultivate hope. That's what will help us through this.