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Thursday, January 2, 2014

A Clean Slate


Again we are upon a New Year - giving us a clean slate to begin again. What is it about putting up a new calendar that gives us hope and a better outlook? Our past still doesn't change, but our attitudes do!

I spend my time from Christmas to New Years reflecting on what accomplishments I've made and what I want to accomplish in the next year. I refuse to do resolutions but instead I do a long list of things I'd love to get done. Do I ever do them all - no, but when I pull out the list that I created the previous year, I feel a sense of accomplishment as I see all that I have checked off. This is especially good when I feel like I didn't get anything accomplished over the past year.

My daughter thinks the lists are silly. Why make a list that you're not going to complete? She sees it as a list where she's failed to do things she wanted to. Me? I see it so much differently. I must confess, I'll move a majority of things to the next year sometimes, but they are things I'd like to get done in the near future.

This year I had crossed off many that I hadn't really expected to. With moving into a new home and having a few small frames for a garden, I never expected to put up the amount of home preserved food that I did. With hubby's restricted diet, it became more necessary to do so. I could tailor the foods the way we needed them and not being at the mercy of the grocery stores.

This year, my list is MUCH longer and a little more detailed. I need to get a sewing area done so that I can make some flannel nighties that I can't seem to find anywhere. I have to do the same with knit socks, a favorite apron, pickled hot peppers and spirited peaches. This simple list gives me hope and satisfaction throughout the year, but especially at the end. Is it silly? My daughter thinks so, but for me, it will be a tradition I will carry on until the end of my time.