I Just read the title of our pastor’s new blog entry that said, “How to handle the post-Christmas blues.” Aw, really? People get sad AFTER Christmas? Why didn’t I know this? I guess I knew it when I was a dispatcher because of the increase of suicides and domestic problems this time of year, but most of it occurred before or during the holiday. It must be because of all the build up, and then it’s over? I know I go through a “missing period” when my family goes home. Or maybe sadness is there because of a missing loved one or other piece of grief that has been triggered from the celebrations. Seriously, it makes my heart so sad that people start the new year from a place of heaviness. I feel like I have this going on during different times of the year because of life events that happened then. Post-Christmas sadness must be the same, but is brought on by the holiday events. If this is you, I’m so sorry, and I wish I could make it better for you.

The new year for me has always been a place to leave all the old behind. It’s like taking a hot shower after digging in the dirt all year. All my life, I’ve been the girl that cleans to get past stuff. When I was a teenager, every time I broke up with a boy I would clean out a closet, or drawers, or some other place that needed to be organized. I guess it was a way to exert some sort of control over my situation, and bring it to order. I would be cleaning and tearing things out of cabinets, and my mom would ask me if something happened. The starting of a new year is exactly like this. For me, Christmas is done the weekend after it came and I’m moving on to brighter days.

By the time New Year’s Eve comes to my house I am ready for it! I love new starts! I don’t care if it’s a new day or new week! I love that we are allowed to reinvent ourselves whenever we feel like it. Then, I love that we get to choose whenever we want to start! I may choose the next Monday, or next first of the month. I’m all about starting over. The new year is the mother of all starting overs! Leave the old year wrapped around your Christmas tree and shove it back in the box, or throw it out to the curb! PS Don’t bring that old tree back in the house! Take that hot shower and use all your new soaps and lotions you got in your stocking. Wash off the old and bring in the new.

When my kids would tell me they hated their lives, (yes, they said that) I’d just tell them, then get a new one. I’m serious, there is no rule that says you have to be HERE and you have no control over it. (Unless you’re in jail, in which case you’re going to need a different blog post.) We have the power to be who we want and live the life we desire. All the things around us we can’t control are not what defines us. How we navigate them is what we’re all about. What better day to try out a new strategy, then the very first day of a new year. You’re the boss, make it yours!