Happy New You
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I love the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. One year, back when I was a teenager, I resolved to stop using the word “smurf” as a verb. I have say, I really smurfed that one out of the park. Another year, I vowed to drop “cornucopia” from my vocabulary. I survived by substituting “plethora” in its place. Don’t even get me started on the year I promised to stop saying the word “fixin’,” as in, “I’m fixin’ to go fix me a turkey dinner with all the fixin’s.” As you can imagine, that was a pretty tough one to stick to, but I somehow I managed.
Most New Year’s resolutions are slightly more meaningful. We’ve all vowed to eat better and exercise more. Some of us have promised to give up a bad habit such as drinking, smoking, or cursing. A few of us have sworn to build our sons treehouses. I put that one in writing on December 30, 2006. You may recall that I finally fulfilled that promise just a few weeks ago.
The beauty of making New Year’s resolutions is that it gives us an opportunity to reinvent ourselves. If we have become less than satisfied with who we have become over the past 365 days, we can hit a reset button and start over on January 1. The following is an excerpt from my blog written on January 1, 2009:
“I love to reinvent myself each year. I make resolutions that help to redefine who I am. It’s almost like creating a character in a story. I can write my character to be however I want. In years past I have changed my character from a shallow, self-centered drunk to a caring father and husband who writes a ridiculous blog. Last year, my character was a mostly tragic figure beginning with the death of my beloved dog Jake on January 10 and ending with the death of my dear mother on December 30. This year, my character will be a comic figure. I resolve to play the role of an unemployed philosopher who is writing his first book and blogging about his adventures as a stay at home dad. He is a man who makes people laugh wherever he goes. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and when life gets messy, he just rolls with it rather than feel sorry for himself. When people are around him, they can’t help but smile. He lives to make others happy, which in turn makes him happy. He treats his wife and kids with love and respect. He rarely gets angry and when he does he gets over it quickly and never holds a grudge. He spends more time with his friends no matter how far away they live and no matter how high gas prices get because he understands how fleeting life is and how few opportunities we have to spend time with those we care about. Guys want to be him and girls want to be with him. He is Magnum P.I., Cosmo Kramer, and Buddy the Elf all wrapped up into one irresistible, enigmatic, and ridiculous character. This is the character I have always wanted to play…”
How did I do with that resolution/reinvention? Well, I wrote and published that first book. I turned my blog about being a stay-at-home dad into this column. I continue to try to make people laugh. I am good to my wife and kids and friends. I guess you could say, I really smurfed that one out of the park.
Happy New You!
Most New Year’s resolutions are slightly more meaningful. We’ve all vowed to eat better and exercise more. Some of us have promised to give up a bad habit such as drinking, smoking, or cursing. A few of us have sworn to build our sons treehouses. I put that one in writing on December 30, 2006. You may recall that I finally fulfilled that promise just a few weeks ago.
The beauty of making New Year’s resolutions is that it gives us an opportunity to reinvent ourselves. If we have become less than satisfied with who we have become over the past 365 days, we can hit a reset button and start over on January 1. The following is an excerpt from my blog written on January 1, 2009:
“I love to reinvent myself each year. I make resolutions that help to redefine who I am. It’s almost like creating a character in a story. I can write my character to be however I want. In years past I have changed my character from a shallow, self-centered drunk to a caring father and husband who writes a ridiculous blog. Last year, my character was a mostly tragic figure beginning with the death of my beloved dog Jake on January 10 and ending with the death of my dear mother on December 30. This year, my character will be a comic figure. I resolve to play the role of an unemployed philosopher who is writing his first book and blogging about his adventures as a stay at home dad. He is a man who makes people laugh wherever he goes. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and when life gets messy, he just rolls with it rather than feel sorry for himself. When people are around him, they can’t help but smile. He lives to make others happy, which in turn makes him happy. He treats his wife and kids with love and respect. He rarely gets angry and when he does he gets over it quickly and never holds a grudge. He spends more time with his friends no matter how far away they live and no matter how high gas prices get because he understands how fleeting life is and how few opportunities we have to spend time with those we care about. Guys want to be him and girls want to be with him. He is Magnum P.I., Cosmo Kramer, and Buddy the Elf all wrapped up into one irresistible, enigmatic, and ridiculous character. This is the character I have always wanted to play…”
Happy New You!
