Well, the ball has dropped (or if you were in Hagerstown on New Year’s Eve, the doughnut was dunked), the Christmas clutter is slowly finding its way back into the attic, and the long (and recently quite cold) winter nights have me in deep thought about the New Year.

As you may know, I turned fifty this past October, so that means that I probably have fewer years ahead of me than behind me (statistically speaking), so I find myself taking inventory of life events thus far and wondering where the next decade or so will take me.  I don’t have regrets, mind you – and this is not some sort of mid-life crisis where I’ll come home one day with some tricked-out sports car and try to re-live my twenties, but I often catch myself in self-reflection and contemplation on the “next chapter” of my life story.

I don’t believe in New Year’s “resolutions”, because I think they are false promises that are generally doomed to failure.  That being said; however, I’d like to try and make a few goals for 2018 (and beyond):

 

Live More in the Moment

In the song ‘Beautiful Boy, Darling Boy’ (by John Lennon), there is a lyric that states “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.  There’s a lot of truth in that statement.  I’m a planner by nature – often meticulous to a fault.  I plan dinner menus for the house a week in advance and set out my work clothes for the following morning each night before I go to bed.  I’m a bit of a neat freak as well, picking up shoes, straightening up pillows on the couch, or putting away things around the homestead – many times BEFORE the person using them was finished with whatever they were doing.  Because I’m constantly thinking of what comes next in my life, whether it be figuring out what day to pay the bills or when to wash the dishes in the sink, I often miss what’s happening in the now.

Sometimes, the dishes can wait.  I might put that on a T-shirt.  Better yet, say that sentence in a “Forrest Gump” voice – it sounds profound.

 

Be Kinder

I’ll admit it.  I’m getting crotchety in my older age.  My patience for people in general is at an all-time low, and although I don’t consider myself an angry person by nature, I find my tolerance levels for humanity is razor thin.  I don’t enjoy being in groups of people anymore and clamor for the peace and tranquility of an empty room or just five minutes of silence.  I spend my days with a furrowed brow, mumble at strangers, constantly roll my eyes, and often speak in such a sarcastic tone that it’s a wonder anyone bothers to converse with me at all.  There’s a great quote from the TV series ‘Justified’, where the lead character (a US Marshall) is speaking to a prisoner in his car, stating “you know, if you go through your day and encounter a single a**hole, then he’s probably just an a**hole, but if you go through your day and everyone you meet is an a**hole?  Then maybe it’s you.”

Maybe it is me.

 

Be Grateful (and Thankful) for What I Have

I’m blessed with a loving wife, two wonderful daughters, an eighteen year-old cat (that may possibly out-live me), and both my mother and mother-in-law are still around to talk to and have dinner with.  I’ve got a roof over my head, clean clothes on my back, and food in the fridge.  I have a steady job (for now), have saved for my eventual retirement, and am in generally good health.  There are many people my age who are missing one or more of these things.  They should not be taken for granted.

 

Look, I may not have the job I want, may have undiagnosed OCD, and am probably a hopeless, cranky, old fart, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the things I DO have.

In the end, I’m still a very lucky man – and maybe that’s what I should think about (and be thankful for) most of all on these cold, winter nights.