Everything Nac

Chris Herrington, Contributing Writer

     If on Christmas eve “not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,” then the week after that all heaven broke loose and the visiting families of kids hit the front door like a rampaging bull in a mid-night china closet, and you know what I’m talking about. The extra trips to the already mind-numbingly crowded stores for more stuff to satisfy the appetites of a herd of teenagers. The constant vigilance to fend off the inevitable, for wherever a gathering of teens and pre-teens shall take place, havoc shall follow; oh, yeah. That last morsel of whatever it was that you only get once a year eaten in an unavoidable gulp as if it were a blistering wind on the southern pole’s highest cliff. The plagues of Egypt had nothing on the ravages of young people going through those growing years as they pass from refrigerator to pantry, house to party, weekend to holiday, one unending smorgasbord of happily blissful childhood with a driver’s license, right? Sure.

     We begin the New Year, just a few hours from now really, with a heart filled with hope, and several resolutions we have been thinking of. We hate to disappoint others, but we don’t seem to stop disappointing ourselves when it comes to making promises we can’t keep. Well, we have had it with that stuff! 100 days from now, on April 4, 2012, we will have gone through enough time to stop old habits, begin new habits, and literally transform ourselves into an entirely new person. Whatever year this is for you birthday wise, you could begin today to transform something in your life 1% at a time, day by day, until it is 100% different by April 4th.

     Tops on almost everyone’s list, of course, it is our body image. One way to handle that is to say as soon as the holidays are over and I have consumed everything in sight, I will begin to wage war on myself by starving myself, but until then I will eat like a man who is condemned to die. It is a kind of death really. The old over-indulgent self is dying to take a 100th bite, and the new self that is taking charge so that he does not have to live large is fighting each bite with every fiber of his being, right after the next pastry. Well, why not begin 5 pounds ahead of the curve? What if instead of over-indulging, you looked your fellow partiers right in the eyes and said, “I’m going to look great at the beach! And I am working on that right now!” That will take the “j” out of joy for them! Nuts! Instead of taking that last half of the fruit cake one bite at a time, I am going to tip toe off to the sink to get a glass of water….doesn’t that sound yummy? It’s your resolution, Buddy.

     Okay, well maybe getting in shape is not the right pathway to happiness in 100 days. What about spring cleaning? We all have those closets, pantries, drawers and dust bunnies that are just waiting in fear of our spring mayhem. I say, sock it to them early! In 100 days we could bust out the gear, clean the house from stem to stern, and then sit relaxed in May just in time to get ready for the kids to get out of school so we can see them totally take all of our hard work and cover it in a seven layer sprinkling of e-toys, cyber-things, and parts of electronics and sports gear. Man, to tell you the truth, I don’t think my heart is in this. I may have bummed myself out!

     Forget it. I’m going back to the other thing, but this time I want to have fun. What if instead of restricting my caloric intake and upping my reps, I start a new thing that I have always wanted to do or I reconnect with one of the those old hobbies that I have forgotten about while I was cooking, cleaning, going to work, and taking care of those visiting relatives and hordes of kids? Beyond the yard care, the garage cleaning, the reorganization, the IRS, the new regulations to prepare for at work, the on-going heap of insanity with the elections, the overwhelming trivia concerning who to blame for this latest economic debacle, maybe there is time for something beyond “Hangover III.”

     What if instead of getting away, I used this 100 days to actually get into my own life? Clean the guns, water the grass, feed the cats, patch the driveway, clean the gutters…the chores are endless, but what about taking care of myself? How do I look in a bathing suit? What if instead I asked how long it has been since I went swimming? If I am not going swimming, I can avoid that first question altogether. If I avoid my life, I can avoid asking about it too. How long has it been since I read a book? How long has it been since I saved enough to go on a vacation? How long has it been since I sat by myself and just thought about where I am in my life and then mapped out a plan as to how to get me on track or to even say, “Good job, You?”

     Okay, so the New Year’s date brings a lot to mind. And it brings a lot to our hearts. We can trick ourselves, avoid the discussion of age, minimize thinking of planning ahead, and make lists that we often lose just so we can let remain on the back burner what is too painful or difficult or overwhelming. But this year, starting today, and for the next 100 days, we have the chance to make changes that might transform us, make us over, help us resolve real issues, push along our personal agendas, or we can wait to avoid them again and again for seasons to come. Candy heart, chocolate egg, waving flag, pumpkin pie, turkey leg, ho-ho-ho, and “for he’s a jolly good fellow,” year after year until it’s over for good.

     100 days: What will you do until April 4th to put a dent in your abundance?

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