January Schmanuary

I’d somehow forgotten that in France New Year’s is a big deal. On Wednesday I went to the supermarket and had to navigate through the crowds of people buying loads of seafood and specialty cheeses. Here the New Year’s Eve/Day meal is almost as big as the Christmas Eve/Day meal. Except there are no presents. Just a million wishes from everyone you see: bonne année, bonne santé (happy new year, good health).

Personally, I’m not crazy about New Year’s. It’s kind of a let-down after Christmas. In my mind December is that cozy midnight blue sky with twinkling lights and all the colors of the Christmas tree. And then there is January. Just white, like the new pages of the calendar. A blank that will soon be filled with the ho-hum routine of work. Somehow we limp through January and get to the rest of the year. But boy is it tough.

Maybe another reason I don’t like New Year’s is that there are these expectations that things should be better, and that I should actively do something to make them better. Whereas I’m lazy and would really like good things to just happen to me. Making resolutions is probably a good idea, but, like many, I never seem to keep them. I always say I’ll try to be more positive and worry less. I might as well say I’ll keep on being negative and give myself a stomach ulcer.

But no, seriously, I’m gonna try to take better care of myself. Maybe some more exercise, as this is good for you both physically and mentally. And just the little things like using a nice night cream on my face and taking a bit more pride in my appearance instead of just throwing on whatever is clean. Being a mom isn’t an excuse for not being a little girly now and then.

I won’t make any more resolutions for fear of not keeping them. But in general I hope to take things a little less seriously and be kinder to myself and others. Let’s hope this lasts till February at least.