Well, here it is, Boxing Day and the whole craziness of Christmas is over.  The fridge is full of leftovers so no need to think about what to make for dinner.  Relatives have been and, hopefully, gone and the house is peaceful again.

If there are young children in the house, hopefully they are involved in toys and not arguing with each other.  I hope you all remembered to buy batteries, so new toys could be played with immediately.

I find this is a time to reflect, time to take stock of what has happened over the past months.  Most families have one or more dysfunctional member who are very much loved but always seem to know which buttons to press to cause distress.  We are no exception and I usually shed my tears, then try to get over it.  It is terribly upsetting at the time but, in the whole scheme of things, just a blip on the radar of our lives.

As I said before, a time of reflection and putting things into perspective.  A time to clean out closets for the thrift store.   Also a time get our minds ready for the coming year.

I think the number one wish for most of us is to see a happier world in 2016.  A world where people are not determined to force everyone else into their way of thinking.  A world where extremists can’t hold entire countries to ransom as they commit acts of terrorism that make no sense to us.

The best way we can change the world is to change ourselves, but this is not as easy as it would seem to be.  One of the ways to try and change is to make New Year resolutions to improve our way of behaving.    Thousands of people try every year to make a new start with the new year.  I have done this many times, with the beginning of each January.

My resolutions have been a variety of self improvement ideas, all of which have been attempted with every good intention of lasting the year through but, sad to say, usually do not last through January.

The result is yet another sense of failure on my part when, once again, I fail to commit to follow through with the latest promises I made to myself.

I make the usual resolutions, lose some weight, be kinder to everyone I meet, have more patience with my husband,  go to church on a regular basis and to be a better person.

The diet usually starts very well.  The Christmas festivities usually involve several days of overindulgence in rich food and an excess of calorie laden goodies.  So, by New Year’s Day I am more than ready to give my stomach a rest and I get creative with salads, light soups and grilled fish.

Sometimes the diet will last for several weeks before I get tired of the menu.  The fifteen pounds I have shed make me feel good enough to buy a new outfit and people start to notice my weight loss, then, I find some leftover Alfredo sauce in the freezer. Goodbye diet!

The being kinder to others goes OK for a while, I really try, however, the patience with my husband is usually stretched to the limit by the 3rd of January and with that out of the equation, goes the kindness to others, why be kind to others if I can’t even be kind to the most important person in my life.  I will never be a better person, I can’t be nice for even a few weeks.

The church thing doesn’t even make the first Sunday, I am still sat in my nightie at 11.00am and the only thing I have in mind is another cup of coffee. However, I have always had a pretty good relationship with God and I have convinced myself that I can do that without going to church.

I talk to him at my kitchen window, as I stand washing dishes and admiring his handiwork in my garden.  I ask his advice in everything I do and, although he doesn’t always answer me with the speed I would like, he does answer.

To be honest, I do not seem to find God in church.  I really try to find some message in the sermon but I find my mind wandering into other things I could be doing instead of sitting where I am.  To me, God seems to live outdoors, the breeze rustling the leaves, the sparkle of sunshine on water, the gently falling rain and each magnificently formed snowflake.  The wonders of nature are surely designed by a divine hand.  This morning, as I stand by my kitchen window there is a squirrel digging up hidden nuts and racing up a nearby tree to eat them.  There are doves and quail eating the seed we sprinkle and, on the birdfeeder, there are at least ten finches eating while others are sitting nearby, waiting for their turn.  No-one, not even my “science based facts” husband can convince me that these are not the work of  a Creator, and, I don’t give a fig about the Big Bang Theory of science.

In a few days, thousands of people will be starting the new year with new hope of changing their lives in some positive way, good luck to all of those people, I hope they manage to stick to their good intentions.  As for me,  I am not setting myself up for failure again.  I will pray for guidance and leave the rest to chance.

A very happy, healthy 2016 to all of us.  May this be the year that those in power make resolutions to strive towards Peace on Earth.