When I was a little girl, Halloween was my favorite day of the year. A day that literally required I pretend to be someone/something else, at least for a little while. It went perfectly with my extremely active imagination and propensity for melodrama. But as I got older I started to feel squeamish about the the whole “Here I am, give me something” theme. I began to prefer dressing like a zombie and terrorizing neighborhood kids with my dad and Thister. Good times.

By my early teens Easter became my favorite holiday. I was deeply in love with the Crucifixion story, and everything the church then offered me. Things change, however. If we’ve been paying attention, change comes as no surprise.

“Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while,
so that we can see Life with a clearer view again.” ~ Alex Tan

As I’ve gotten older and made more than my share of mistakes, had my share of unexpected developments…I’ve grown to truly embrace the turn of the calendar and the metaphorical presentation of clean slates. Which again coincides with my aforementioned active imagination and propensity for melodrama. 2011 cinched it for me, and since then New Year’s Day is without a doubt my favorite holiday. Not New Year’s Eve, you understand. I honestly don’t think anyone who’s had much doings in the hospitality industry would suggest the Eve is a day or night of supreme enjoyment. On the contrary, it’s long hours of what can seem like indentured servitude, regardless what role a person is playing. Chefs, dishwashers, servers, coat checks, door men, valet parkers, managers and concierges…. It’s a long-ass day of hard labor. On the bright side, it’s also like a union. Something shared between everyone who schlogs on a major holiday. Police, fire, hospital folk, bus drivers, TV and radio people. I imagine that sense of brotherhood is the same for everyone in education. Or gynecology.

But on New Year’s Day the possibilities are endless. We have twelve months coming during which we can reinvent ourselves and our approach to responsibilities and relationships. Handle something differently than we have in the past? Sure! That situation was so last year. This year I’m going to respond another way. Have I said that before? Well this year will be different!