And She Writes too

Every year at the start of the New Year, I take a moment to reflect on the past. Each year I ask myself a few questions. Do I have any regrets? Would I change anything? And how can I make things different for the New Year? My answers have always been the same. There are no regrets, there is nothing I would change, and the next year will be no different. It wasn't until my dad passed away in late December 2006 that my annual questions took on a different meaning.

The year following my dad's death, I found myself wanting to please him even more. I wanted him to look down on me from heaven saying, "That's my girl, good job." But in that year I made many mistakes that I am positive disappointed my dad. Those mistakes and the love I have for my dad made me answer those New Year questions differently.

Do I have any regrets? There are many regrets starting with not being true to myself and others. Would I change anything? Change is hard and changing the past is impossible but I can learn from it and not make excuses for it. How can I make things different for the New Year? Making things different takes honesty, perseverance and strength. This year I started my year saying the Serenity Prayer and I will end the year with the same prayer.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Reciting the Serenity Prayer daily should help me have a better year than the last. Maybe next year, I won't be asking myself those annual questions but maybe I will be content that the prior year went just as it should have. Happy New Year!