Goodbye to 2004
Fri., December 31, 10:54 AM
There was a big flap – lots of protests and demonstrations – in the next town over because they had a Christmas display on the public green. Mind you, the City hadn’t sponsored the display. There was a large sign explaining that a private group had put it up. That was what prompted the letter I sent to the newspaper. But when they published a group of letters on the subject, mine wasn’t among them.
I figured they probably didn’t like my take on the subject; it’s not the first time that happened. So I was surprised to see my letter on the op-ed page yesterday, with the emphasis on my comments on diversity. That’s the second time they’ve concentrated on a different point of my letter. I found myself thinking, “do they know what I’m talking about?” Or, y’know, maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, right?
The end of December has come faster than I expected it, and I’m not sorry to see 2004 go. I went back to my diary of a year ago to see if I had begun the year on a happier note. No, not particularly, and it went downhill from there. We’re still losing people in Iraq. Unemployment continues to rise, particularly in this area. (And remember, the stats don’t tell you everything. Some unemployed people are no longer claiming because their benefits have run out.)
We lost a lot of good people this year – like Christopher Reeve and Julia Child – and only one who deserved to go a long time ago. Sometimes I think I’m the only person who remembers some of them. My brother and I reminisced about Ed Kemmer, who was Commander Buzz Corey of “Space Patrol” – on the radio. The only really great news in 2004 was His and Hers Basketball Championships for UConn, and that won’t happen again for a while (rebuilding). Well, the best thing, I suppose, is that both Husband and I survived some scary illnesses. But I’m definitely ready to start a new year.
After Son cleaned out so much stuff from Husband’s room, I really had to start going through some of my own things. Among other reasons, I moved some things from his room into mine so that I wouldn’t lose them again – and then I needed a proper place to store them. So, from time to time, I pick up a pile of something and start going through it. (It’s one of those simple tasks I can do even if I’m tired.) Such wonderful lost treasures…if you remember that one man’s treasure is another man’s junk.
I found copies of some comments I sent to the newspaper several years ago, many years before I began spouting off on-line, some even before I had my own internet connection. I believe I will recycle them from time to time. If I know the original date, you will too. If not (because Husband doesn’t write the date when he cuts out articles), too bad.
The following was in response to a questions about New Year’s resolutions, so it must have been late December – about three or four years ago:
I stopped making resolutions specifically for the New Year when I realized they were too limiting. If you’re really intent on making improvements, you don’t have to wait until January first. You just have to tell yourself: “Tomorrow I’ll stop smoking.” Or “next week I’ll start to watch my diet better.”
If there’s no date involved, it doesn’t matter as much if you slip. You can just start over. Most workable self-help programs stress “one day at a time.”
We’re not supermen, so let’s cut ourselves some slack.
That’s not to say there aren’t some people who need improvement (usually males who have gotten big but haven’t grown up). Ahem. But if you simply have to make a resolution, let it be: Value yourself for what you are – and cut yourself a little slack.
