Quit Making Resolutions You Won't Keep and Instead Carry Your Strengths into 2014

Ahhh resolutions.  We love to make them, fail to keep them, and discard them as quickly and as carelessly as we made them in the first place.

But it's the new year.  Aren't we *supposed* to make resolutions? Aren't we supposed to take a look back at all that we didn't get accomplished last year and make a plan to do it right, to do it better this year?

You know, out with the old, in with the new . . . that's how the saying goes after all.

But what if instead of focusing on all that we didn't get accomplished in 2013, we started the new year with a celebration of all that we did well, focusing on our strengths, and making a plan to use those strengths in an even new and better way.

What if old became the new new?

What if the celebration of "Old" was the thing to do each New Year's day instead of making resolutions we know we will never keep?

Today, I'm going to dump the marbles of 2013 out on the table and look for the patterns I see there, making a note of strengths I see in myself and my family members.  And then, I'm going to spend some time thinking about how to use those strengths in a new and better way in 2014.

All that to say, out with the new and in with the old. I'm celebrating the joy and strength of 2013 and carrying those things forward into 2014.  Who's with me?

You Smell Like a New Book

When I was a first grade teacher, I loved to teach writing to my students.  We spent a lot of time learning to write, all types of writing, but their most favorite type was descriptive writing.
I would typically have them draw a picture of some given topic and then have them describe that particular person/place/thing.

On one particular day, I was the subject of their work.  I asked my students to draw a picture of me and then describe me.  I let them "interview" me and recorded my answers on the board.  As was a typical part of most of their descriptive pieces, they had to incorporate at least two of their 5 senses in their work.

Hands down, my most favorite description was from a little boy named Matt Jones.  He wrote,

"Mrs. Jones smells like a new book."

I laughed out loud when I read it, and then just had to ask him what he meant by that.  He said, "Mrs. Jones, my favorite thing about coming to school is getting new books.  They smell so good.  And you smell good all the time.  I just didn't know how to say what you smelled like, so I picked something that smelled good and said you smell like that."  (He got an A+!)

As I think about the new year, I am reminded of Matt Jones, and it makes me smile.  New does indeed, smell good. 

All that to say, Happy New Year.  May every day smell as good as a new book.