Connie Schultz: Treading Gently Into This New Year

[babylonsister]

https://www.creators.com/read/connie-schultz/12/17/treading-gently-into-this-new-year

Treading Gently Into This New Year
By Connie Schultz

December 27, 2017 5 min read

snip//

This is the week of countless stories about New Year's resolutions and columns by people who think you want to know all about theirs. I am not one of them; I promise.

I'd rather feel hopeful about the new year. A long list of resolutions, considered at its source, is a litany of our flaws. I should do this better. I must stop doing that. I have to change this, this and this about me. The longer we go on the more pathetic we appear to be. It's our habit to focus on our imperfections, but my, how this documentation of our discontent magnifies our lens. It's a small miracle that we ever leave our homes.

Recently, with our six grandchildren in mind, I bought a set of four handmade coasters with messages of hope, to sprinkle throughout the house. They are ceramic tiles illustrated with winged children wearing paper crowns and wielding wands. Each coaster bears a message that, in appearance, resembles a ransom note cut from magazines. Fortunately, the inscriptions are less menacing.

"Sometimes it ends up different, and it's better that way."

"You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut."

"Be you. The world will adjust."

And my favorite, right now: "In a world where you can be anything, be kind." As resolutions go, that pretty much covers it.

It snowed throughout the day on Christmas Eve. In the 10th hour, our grandson pulled on a pair of my boots and his winter coat we had stored for a year. Grandpa grabbed the leash for our dog, Franklin, and we left the parents behind as the four of us took a walk in the falling snow.

The snow had worked its magic. Trees sparkled as we walked down the middle of empty streets. Repeatedly, we lifted our faces to the cascade of snowflakes.

"It's true," Clayton said as he walked ahead of me. "This really is the best time of the year." He turned to face me, his arms opened wide. I held on to him for as long as he let me.

We were almost back to our house, when our grandson shared with us his current policy.

"I've decided that this year, I want to believe in Santa," he said. "Sometimes the world is a better place if you don't know everything about it."

[Ohiogal]

1. I'm such a huge Connie Schultz fan

Such a beautiful essay!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. What an amazing and wonderful story this is!

And that young man is wise beyond his years!

[Wounded Bear]

3. "Sometimes the world is a better place if you don't know everything about it."

That there is some wisdom.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

4. Want To Give The WORLD A Gift? Let Your Husband Run For President

I'm such a huge Sherrod Brown fan. He would clean Trump's clock and be a great President. The only thing holding him back is his wife, who has threatened to divorce him if he ever runs for President. Well, Connie, I say it's time to re-evaluate that position given the dire circumstances we're currently facing. Do it for all of us, Connie. Pretty please?