Emerald G. Parsons
2016 has come and gone and we find ourselves staring 2017 straight in the face.
My favorite New Year’s childhood memories find me spending every New Year’s Eve with my Grandmother (Cora Lee Hartsfield) Greene. We spent the night taking down the Christmas tree and all Christmas decorations; for she taught me that if we left them up then we would bring all the “bad stuff” from the “old year” in with the “new year.” She taught me to take all decorations down and begin the New Year off fresh.
My Grandmother also always told me that I couldn’t wash clothes on New Year’s Day. “You’ll wash someone out of the family,” she would say. “Old wives’ tales,” so they are said to be; but, we lived by them, she and me.
However, on January 1, 1998 I called my Grandmother to inquire about washing dishes on New Year’s Day. She had always said I couldn’t wash clothes; but I wasn’t sure about washing dishes. I remember vividly she laughed and said she had been wondering the same thing that day. She reported she had a sink full of dirty dishes (as did I.)
So, we decided that we would both wash dishes that day …. and if something happened, in our family, we wouldn’t know who would be to blame.
Three months later, to the day, she died as a result of a stroke.
As I stood in the hospital, holding her hand as she took her last breath, I thought about those dishes.
Is there truth to “Old Wives’ Tales?” or was it a coincidence?
We will never know!
But I can tell you this… I have never washed dishes again, on New Year’s Day, since 1998.
A brand new year also brings about “New Year Resolutions.”
However, statistics show that after six months, fewer than half of the people who make New Year’s Resolutions are still upholding them. After one year, that percentage drops to about 10 percent.
I gave up New Year’s Resolutions many years ago…..I didn’t need statistics to realize that I, personally, didn’t keep them either, in a timely matter.
I’ve learned, however, that the secret to New Year’s Resolutions is not to make a promise once a year and try so hard to make it work. The true secret is to slowly make life changing habits that become a part of your life.
It doesn’t matter what the “Resolution” is - - stop smoking, clean the house, lose weight, exercise more, tithe, or save money - - the end result is so much better if you just slowly make life changing adjustments to make it work. Making a promise on January 1 might lead to let-down in a few months. Once the let-down has occurred, the mentality of trying again is broken.
Slowly making changes in our lifestyles makes for a longer lasting effect. Instead of making a “New Year’s Resolution” make a “Lifestyle resolution.”
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein
With the ending of another year of our lives, we must not look back at the past, but look forward to a new beginning with 2017.
“Bring the past only if you are going to build from it.” ~Doménico Cieri Estrada
“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” ~Author Unknown
I hope all of you, our faithful readers, will be richly blessed in the upcoming New Year. May you all find peace, love and happiness in all that you do.
Furthermore, always remember to cherish your loved ones; for one day/year they may not be here to show your love to!