January is a time for resolutions; making them, and much too often, breaking them. I am no stranger to this. I have resolved to drink more water, pray more, eat healthier, call old friends...you name it. Each year, come February, I seem to have disappointed, though not surprised, myself.
Except for one resolution, which I have kept since I was 18 years old.
A Year In A Glance.
The tradition was started by my mother, who would sit down and read to me her yearly write up each January. We would reminisce about the past year; special birthdays, camping trips, or sadly, people we lost. And once we read one, we found ourselves looking back through previous years. Sometimes to laugh, sometimes to cry. But always to remember.
The idea is simple, really. When Christmas has come and gone, and you have taken down all the sparkly decorations, take a half hour out of your day to write about your past year. It helps to have your calendar in front of you, and then you can chronologically document your year. You do not have to write a book. A few words per month or special occasion is fine.
Trust me, it is worth it.
It is an emotional exercise as well. It is funny how you don't remember, or therefore, document, that day in January that your car wouldn't start. Instead, you collect memories of your grandparents 60th wedding anniversary, a new niece being born, or when your little one took his first steps. No matter how hard this past year was, you will look back at it and smile.
Once you have done this for a few years, you will marvel at how easy it is, but most importantly, how much you cherish that little file in the back of your closet.
One day I will read to my sons about the year I met their father, in real time, when he was just this cute boy I liked. Or I will read of the years they were born, and how nervous and new I was at being their mother.
And as they laugh about the 'old days,' I will smile, knowing this was all worth my while.
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