Tag: NYE

Smiley

Yesterday, my daughter and I picked up some takeout for dinner, and the young man who came to the car with our food, was a walking smile. He was what jubilation looks like in human form. Though wearing a mask, his eyes glittered when he talked, and the wide smile that must been on his face, was easy to picture behind the mask. When he walked to the car, it was more of a float/bounce.

“Let me ask you something,” I said. “Are you always this happy and joyful?”

“Oh, yes ma’am,” he said, without any hesitation, but perhaps with a tinge of “aw shucks” sheepishness. “My manager calls me ‘Smiley’.”

“Don’t ever let anything change that about you. It’s delightful. Your energy is wonderful,” I told him. (I love that I’ve reached the age that I can say things like that with some guise of wisdom and authority and knowingness. I like to think that I come off like a sage – ha!)

The blissful boy just smiled some more, and bounced on to the next car. My daughter turned to me and said, “That was nice of you to compliment him, Mom. I could tell that he liked that. Men don’t get complimented as much as we do. I’ve read that they relish in compliments longer, and really enjoy them.”

“Wow,” I said. “I love to compliment people. I get as much joy from their reaction as they get from the compliment. I am never dishonest, though. I only compliment what I truly like, and notice, and appreciate about something special and unique about a particular person. Maybe we women should relish in our compliments, too. Maybe we women should really enjoy and believe what the kind person who gave us the compliment had to say, and just soak it in, and marinate in it, all day long.”

Readers, let’s do that in 2021. Let’s make one of our resolutions to believe the nice things that people have to say about us. Let’s make one of our resolutions to notice and relish and appreciate and acknowledge the wonderful qualities of other people and of ourselves, and to say these things out loud. Let’s “glow up” in 2021 and let’s help others to “glow up”, too.

Happy New Year’s Eve, my friends and readers. We’ve reached the last day of a shocking and treacherous year. That makes us strong, resilient, optimistic, hopeful, resourceful, adaptable, and supportive people. You are strong, resilient, optimistic, hopeful, resourceful, adaptable and supportive, and I love that about you. Thank you for being a stable force in my life, and making a positive difference in it. Enjoy the evening!!! Glow up!!!

On the Brink

Happy New Year’s Eve! Happy Last Day of 2018! May it be fun, fabulous and the perfect closure to the year! Happy Anniversary, Betsey! My beautiful friend Betsey got married on NYE and it was truly one of the most fun, festive weddings that I have ever been to, mostly because everyone was up for a really good time! It was also so beautiful and sacred. If you ever get the chance to get married on NYE, jump on it! It is the perfect day for a wedding and a wonderful way to start the new year, all in the spirit of love, hope and excitement.

Typically, I feel very spiritual and reflective on NYE. Years ago, I read about a NYE ritual that sounded really interesting to try, so my husband and I and some of our kids have done it on several NYEs now. We write two lists. On one list we write all of the things, experiences, habits, blessings, etc. that we are thankful for in this year and some of these events and ways of being that we hope to continue with, into the new year. We also write on this list, all of the new things, experiences, habits, blessings, etc. that we are hoping for in the new year. We then seal these lists in an envelope with the upcoming year marked on the outside and we store this envelope in a cabinet for the entire year. On our second list, we write a list of things that, while we are thankful for the lessons that these experiences have taught us, we no longer wish to have as a focus in our lives anymore. We burn that list during the evening of NYE, in a small camp fire with some white sage, again thankful for the teachings and good aspects that came from that particular event, experience, habit, but now wanting to say good-bye and to cleanse ourselves from any negativity, by burning that list away.

I just looked at my intention list that I wrote on NYE 2017 for the year of 2018 and I’m excited to see how much of what I had hoped for, actually happened this year. 2018 was a good year! It was a year full of excitement, change and growth for me. I’m excited to spend some time reflecting on what I hope to see in 2019 and writing it all down on a physical list to be stored in our cabinet this year. Truth be told, the list is probably already forming and preparing itself to be manifested on paper, but stored in my heart and in my hopes, for the year to come.

May everything heavy on your hearts be burned away with only the helpful lessons and blessings being retained, to help you on your Life’s journey! May all of your hopes and expectations for the new year come true, in even better form than you can possibly imagine! May happy surprises and profound lessons bless us all in the new year! May continued abundant blessings abound for all of us for the entirety of 2019!