Happy New Year

So now we're starting another year with high hopes and expectations, and for many of us lots of new year resolutions. I used to make resolutions, figuring this was the time to reflect on my past mistakes and make changes where necessary, and I was always filled with determination and purpose. So I'd jot down what I hoped to accomplish--you know the routine: diet, save money, exercise more, and so on, and I always started out with a bang. But after a while, usually in less than a week or so, I'm ashamed to say, I'd fall off the wagon and the resolutions would go by the wayside. I wondered sometimes why I didn't have the will-power to stick to them, or if the goals I set were too unrealistic. It bothered me for a while. But then I stopped worrying about it when I read in the august New York Times that nine out of ten people make the same resolutions, year after year, then fail to go through with them. Of course it's always a good idea to kick bad habits and start life anew if possible, but we're all human, after all, so we have to expect some failure.

Personally I feel we should just relax and try to do the best we can, and so far that philosophy has worked pretty well for me. I know I'm lucky to have a loving family and I'm eternally grateful for that, and I cherish the dear friends I have. So with that in mind in the new year I'll try to practice simple kindness to people I meet, and be more understanding if someone inadvertently hurts my feelings. I'll pay no mind to useless gossip and try to think only good thoughts about people, and I hope that doesn't make me sound too Pollyannish--I'm really not.

So here's wishing you all a very happy and prosperous New Year, and I must confess I'm pretty happy, too, as my new book,"That Certain Summer", will definitely be hitting the shelves next month, my publisher tells me. It's been a long haul, as it always is, what with all the editing and revising one must do, but I can't wait to hold the finished product in my hands--and I hope very much you like it.