NEW YEAR, NEW HOPES, NEW START 
Christmas is all over, tree disposed of and precious ornaments stored away for another year. New Year parties are now just a memory, empty bottles removed from the house and left over calorie laden nibbles have been finished. Another year’s festivities over and done with.
Those of us who made resolutions to stop smoking, lose weight, exercise more or the numerous promises we made to ourselves, are probably already back to our old habits and quite happy to be back to our old selves.
I personally went into the Christmas season with a heavy heart but now it is over, I feel renewed, ready to face forward and start a new year with new vigour and hope. There is something about Christmas that seems to make aching hearts heavier, lonely people feel lonelier and those who are grieving miss their dear ones so much more at this time of year.
However, there is definitely something about the new year that takes us forward, past the memories of what we no longer have and into a brighter future. New Years day has a new number to remember when filling in forms, but really, that is the only difference between one day and the next. It is our attitude that changes. We treat the 1st of January as a new page in our lives, a clean slate to write on and go into the year with a whole different attitude. It is this part of our human spirit that drives us on, hopefully to better things, greater achievements and, hopefully, to be better people.
A few months ago my life fell in pieces around my feet, there seemed no point in struggling to go on, I truly felt like I was useless and had no future. What a difference the support of good friends and a loving family made to my attitude, it was a struggle to see any point in moving forward but the people around me forced me to keep going. I am sure they all got tired of my negative attitude and the feeling that I had no reason to get up in the morning, what a pain in the neck, and other parts, I must have been.
How lucky am I to have this opportunity to start again? It may be just an imagined do-over, but I’m taking it as a gift from God that I can start the year with a fresh page to write on. My new life starts here and I intend to make the most of what has been offered to me.
For the next few weeks I will be in Scotland, caring for a dear cousin who has a terminal illness, this is a very sad journey to go on but I think that having someone she loves, at her side, will make her happier and my renewed determination to be positive, may make us both stronger.
So, be warned, on my return I am going to start living and let everyone know I am around! You have been warned!
