On the Other Side of Tomorrow

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

      Happy belated Merry Christmas. I hope it was fun, festive and all-out wonderful.

      Now that Christmas has come and gone (even though the 12 days of Christmas technically starts on Christmas day), it means New Years is just around the corner. Literally. New Years Eve is tomorrow. Last year I wrote THIS POST on January first *after* the big shimmering ball dropped. I just reread it and I have to stay, I was pretty darn impressed with my hopeful eloquence and encouraging sentiment. Unfortunately, I feel a lack of New Years enthusiasm this year.

      I have no grand plans for tomorrow night. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my family and giving my cat and dog a big kiss on the forehead when the 10, 9, 8....countdown finishes. But man, it makes things a bit difficult to get excited for the year 2014 when I'll probably be in bed fifteen minutes into the new year. But, I do not want to be a Debbie-downer. I do not want to wallow in my self-pity and loneliness which is only satiated by leftover Christmas cookies. I want to be as optimistic as I was at the start of this year, which is now almost over.

       Since Christmas, I have had THIS SONG stuck in my head: "Have yourself a merry little Christmas....next year all our troubles will be out of sight..." Next year. Out of sight. I know that the song refers to next Christmas, but, technically, next year is this week. So! Does that mean that by Wednesday morning all my troubles will be out of sight??? I have a bad feeling that the answer is "NO."

      As much as I love this song, I have to say, Judy Garland might be wrong in her philosophy. If I put on a smile today and put off my problems in hopes that they will be out of sight, I will never get anywhere. My troubles will not magically vanish with next year. It would be good to let my heart be light, but it cannot truly be until I work everything out as it comes to me; until I take every day's challenges and adventures for what they are and live each moment to the fullest. If right now I thought, "Well, this year might be lame, but NEXT December 30th will be great," my life would end up as a perfect graveyard of buried hopes (thanks to Anne of Green Gables for that lovely image).

      Last year I talked about Cinderella going about her daily routine after midnight. She sat in buckets of dirty water and dusty floors until the prince came and saved her. But maybe, just maybe, this year will be about throwing off the apron and going out to seek my own new life. I don't mean chasing after some guy, waving around a glass slipper in my hand. I mean chasing after what I want. What I dream. And then, hopefully next year all my troubles *will* be gone, because I'll have found myself and the resolve to make them go away.

      I hope, my dear readers, that in 2014, you take matters into your own hands. You make sure all your troubles will be out of sight by actively ensuring their disappearance. Be your own magic eraser. And if it helps, sing along with Judy Garland for some inspiration and a smile.

                                                                          Sincerely,
                                                                                   Me