New

I'm not one for new year's resolutions. Like most humans, I've failed to keep too many of them. That said, I am committed to perceiving as much newness as I can. Logically I know January 1st is just the day after December 31st, but when you think about it, any measure of time is arbitrary. So why not see new chances in every year, every month, every day, every moment?

Easier said than done. In grade school, January was my worst month: the momentum of a new school year gone, summer vacation nowhere in sight. Even as I woke just now, I told myself, Here it is January again. It can feel like a month of Mondays if you let it.

So the trick is not to let it. Much as I dread January, there's a part of me that loves to work on rainy days, in the wee hours, when there's a foot of snow on the ground, i.e. when other people just want to sleep in.

Three-and-a-half hours into January, I say:

That's okay, let's see how you do it,
Put up your dukes and let's get down to it...
Hit me with your best shot, 2008.