WE SENIORS have certainly seen our fair share of new years. They come and they go with what seems to be increasing rapidity. If we allow ourselves to become a bit cynical, we might want to dismiss the whole business of resolutions as most often, they last about as long as the cheap toys we fill our grandchildren's Christmas stockings with a day or two, perhaps. However, the whole end-of-year tradition of families getting together to celebrate has its value, in spite of the fact that the religious side of Christmas and the wild enthusiasm with which we are supposed to greet the new year may be a bit overdone.
When we think of our own childhood, there is still nothing to compare with the happiness that the anticipation, the pretty decorations and the whisperings as we try to keep our family's Christmas gifts a secret brought us. Remember trying to sneak open and re-wrap the gifts our parents thought they had hidden away in a cupboard or on a high shelf somewhere? None of us would want our grandchildren and other youngsters around us to miss this kind of fun.
The same goes for Christmas celebrations at Sunday School when we were taught the traditional carols for the Christmas concert. It seemed as if it was the worst behaved boys who ended up in the group of angels at the manger - clean and scrubbed and looking innocent as their proud parents watched!
In our teenage years, half the fun was being able to go to a party on Christmas Eve till as late as our parents would allow and still end up in church on time. Our parents insisted and somehow we managed. The fact that we used the time when communion was going on to catch a quick nap we thought even greater fun and felt we were being original.
As parents, it was then our turn to carry on the traditions with our own children and we all did a fine job.
Grandparents
Now, as grandparents, what is our role? And do we need to make yet another new year resolution? Why not? It's not as if we are perfect and have no bad habits. These bad habits may be rather different than the ones we used to resolve to change years ago. So the choice is not simply to ignore the ritual. The challenge is to find a way to really keep the resolutions we make and improve our past poor record!
So let's think of a few things that will make a difference to our quality of life and that of our friends and family and list them. Maybe it's as simple as starting to do the walking and other types of exercise that are so good for our health. Maybe to be more generous with baby sitting the grandchildren or LESS generous with sitting them, if it means we are going to grumble about it for hours on end. We CAN resolve to learn to say "no" gracefully not only in terms of baby sitting but to other things that we do unwillingly because we are too cowardly to refuse. Maybe we can resolve to be a little kinder to ourselves or to spend just a little more of the carefully hoarded cash to have a little fun. I am not advocating any wild spending sprees as the concern one feels when living on a fixed income is a serious thing and we don't want to overdo it, but maybe we can try to budget something for entertainment and relaxation. The challenge is to be able to do it without worrying afterwards.
So, let's try and think of things like these to vow to do in 2001 and show how much wisdom we have gained over the years by actually making and keeping some do-able resolutions that increases our own happiness and that of others around us.
