the final count-down, princesses and the word "fuck"

it is now 2007. i have high hopes for this year, which seems a bit odd since i wasn't that hopeful on december 31st. did anything really change in those seconds between yesterday and today? i know that nothing really did but somehow somewhere amongst the frenzied ten-second countdown, champagne toast and glittery confetti the stroke of midnight seems like it just might be capable of changing all the horsemen back into mice.

but while the stroke of midnight returned Cinderella to a state of dismal normalcy, new years seems to return us to some sort of beginning, it wipes the slate clean and allows us to think that this year, this time, we'll get it right. January 1st si the day we can start over, resolve to stop ding all the bad things we've been doing for the last 365 days and much more seldomly resolve to do some good things we've been neglecting. We could choose to do this any day of the year. if we wanted we could decide that the beginning of every month warranted a "starting over", we would assure one another of how much better april will be than march and promise that this month we were really going to get our lives together. or we could do it every week, every day, or even better we could live in a constant state of thinking about ways to improve ourselves. that way we wouldn't actually have to do any of it.

the truth is that most resolutions are abandoned a few months into the year. the chocolate gets eaten, gym memberships lapse, "fuck" works its way back into our conversations and the coach turns back into a pumpkin. Cinderella goes back to her rags for another nine months awaiting the confetti and fireworks of another new years eve.

this makes it seem like i'm anti-resolution, but i'm not. if you think about it, having resolve for a few months is better than not having any at all. i think it might be a bit more meaningful if more of us resolved to do some good instead of just giving up the bad- a little more volunteering as opposed to a little less swearing, a resolution to exercise compassion instead of at a gym, you get the idea.

i have also resolved that i am going to celebrate new months eve. so there's a resolution, and it'll be followed by 12 more, an effort to stave off wearing rags as long as i can. sure there may not be fireworks and a midnight kiss every time (though due to my current january 1st optimism i don't want to rule either out completely) but there will be a new beginning.12 strokes of midnight. 11 more chances to get it right this time.

so come over any last of the month- we'll throw some confetti and start all over.