_JPG.jpg)
Okay, it's January again. I missed writing yesterday, so we're two days into January now.
2020 was a strange year. Good and bad. Plenty for which to give thanks.
One thing I notice in retrospect is that the measurement of perfect eyesight, 20-20, while it started off the year as a cutesy little catchphrase everyone was using, actually came to life in some ways for me and for plenty of other people I know.
It was a year for me that goals and dreams became clearer, along with insight about life and loved ones; a self-awareness (in a wholesome way, not to be selfish) became clearer, too, like never before.
There are aspects of personal life I can't discuss for all the world to hear, or at least what little of the world actually reads anything I write, but other aspects are direct results of that clearer vision.
That's one reason I closed up my alterations shop. As I projected into the future based on past performance, I saw more and more precious time being sucked into something I started loving less and less.
I never tired of seeing a delighted bride trying on a perfectly fitted dress that was the result of my handiwork or of my helpers' work. But I did dread the prospect of missing more of my family and home than I already was.
That's not the life I want. The bottom line for alterations can be met in thousands of other ways that don't suck my time so much away from those I love most.
For whatever good and bad came in 2020, as good and bad comes in every year, I really do sense that I'm better off than I was a year ago in ways that can't necessarily be measured the way 20-20 eyesight can be measured.
To start off 2021, New Year's resolutions don't suit me very well. Instead, I see every morning as a new start and another chance to make steps toward whatever the current goals are.
Today, I'll eat better than I did yesterday. To quantify that, it means I will stop when I feel full and not graze out of habit. Pardon me while I blush in shame.
Today, I'll get up at 5:00AM for real, not snooze the alarm for an hour or so. To put that into action means getting to bed by 10:00PM.
Today, I'll go for a walk no matter the weather. Unless there's lightning or a tornado is bearing down upon our heads, I can't see any reason to stay inside all day long.
Today, I'll write.
Today, I'll treat my children and husband with love and consideration.
Today, I'll read my Bible and pray.
Today, I'll spend wisely.
Today, I'll call my grandmother, parents, in-laws, and other loved ones to say they are missed and to find out how they are doing.
Today, I'll _______________.
One last daily goal that eludes me because I just dread cooking most days and procrastinate with it: today, I'll really have dinner on the table at 5:30PM. (Ha!)
So January is another month in my mind, but every new day is a glorious start and a grand gift from our Heavenly Father, the source of all life and goodness.