Good morning and happy almost new year!
In the coming days, social media is going to be loaded with resolutions, memes about breaking resolutions, Bible passages about being peaceful and loving, and the like. Much like Thanksgiving and Christmas, the vibe for most folks is the same at New Year's. It's like, "Let's do better. Except, doing better is too hard. So, let's eat snack food and laugh at how weak we are."
If you're looking for something different here, you're about to be disappointed. LOL.
Everyone resolves the same things at the New Year:
Or if someone decides to take a more spiritual route:
Don't get me wrong...I'm on board with both! I think New Year's is good time to reevaluate what we did in the past year. Let's review my year:
2025 for Sarah was...
A year where I almost quit my job and then didn't.
A year where my ear was plugged for 10 months (and still is).
A year where I was supposed to have a knee replaced and didn't.
A year where Skippy and Peaches saw heartache on multiple fronts, which meant I felt all their feelings.
A year where Hubby was the hero again and again.
A year where I released my 15th novel, Chain Reaction: A Max Marchino Mystery
I didn't lose weight. I didn't stop using my credit cards. I didn't do any of the stuff we say we're going to do. But that's not the point, right? The point of New Year's Resolutions is to tell ourselves we want to be better people.
Guys, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be a better person! Make that resolution list! Want some inspiration? Here's mine for 2026
1) Get my fluffy butt under 200 pounds for the first time in almost 20 years.
2) Put money away in an actual savings account so that I actually have a dollar amount involving a comma at the end of 2026.
3) Clean the floors in my house more. (Or, you know, ever. The bar is wildly low on this one.)
4) Get my office closet organized and keep it organized.
5) Write a second cookbook.
6) Win the lottery, quit my job, buy a beautiful cabin overlooking Lake Superior, and do nothing but watch movies and write novels for the rest of my life.
Here's the thing: If I accomplish ONE thing on that list by this time next year, it'll be 1) a miracle and 2) a massive success.
But on the flip side of that coin...
The inhabited portions of this planet have been beaten and flogged quite a bit in the last five years. Do we really need to put unrealistic pressure on ourselves to BE BETTER? Aren't we all, you know, really EXHAUSTED?
How about if we collectively agree to speak softly, walk gently, and just kind of ease into 2026 without disturbing our surroundings?
Let's stop shrieking at each other every time a talking head on a 24-hour news channel says something 1100 times and on the 1100 and first time we snap and start howling at anyone who doesn't agree with us. Turn off the news. Turn on music. Turn off the editorials, the commentaries, and op-ed pieces, and the click-bait. Turn on fun movies, classic TV shows, and sports talk radio (I mean, if we're going to get upset, let's get upset about important stuff...like how the Green Bay Packers need to find some kind of supplement that keeps ACLs from tearing.)
2026 is going to be a great year...or not. I'm going to pull through with my resolutions this year, I mean it...or not. None of that is the point. The point is, as long as there are New Year's celebrations, there will be people who insist on promising themselves and others that they'll be better. As long as we don't lose the spark of WANTING to be better, we might just be okay.
From my house to yours: Happy New Year!
