According to IslandIreland.com, this is an every day Irish toast:
"May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past."
I once read a similar saying that has stuck with me lo these many years:
"May the worst things to happen to you in the new year be no worse than the best things to happen to you last year."
Either way, the sentiment is the same. Think of the best thing that happened to you last year; my wish for you is that in the new year, even your worst day will still be better than last year's best.
Like every year, this past year was full of ups and downs for me, and I expect this new year will be too. The good news is the ups beat out the downs, every year.
Here's another Irish toast for you:
"'Go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís.'
May we be alive at this time next year.
I think that kind of sums it all up. If I live to see 2015 (which I certainly expect I will), then 2014 could have always been worse. Right?
Certainly 2013 wasn't the worst year of my life. I'm still standing - well, sitting at the moment - but I'm here. I have a whole new year to learn new things, develop better habits, make more friends, fix more wrongs... oh sure, I'll hit some roadblocks along the way, and some I'll have to find a way around because I won't be able to climb over them... but the best part is knowing I won't have to face any of that alone.
So here's to you, my family, friends, friendly acquaintances, partners in crime, all:
Slainte !
(Gaelic for Health ! or Cheers !)
Now, I guess I'm supposed to make some New Year's Resolutions. My normal resolution is to not make any new resolutions 'til I catch up with the old ones. But that's a bit vague, so I'll try to be a bit more specific.
1. WRITE: During NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) this past November, I finally wrote over 40,000 words for my new novel. I have so much more I want to add to it, so much I now think is crap that needs to be tossed, and only so much time and energy to do it in. Nonetheless, my goal is to finish "That Sunday in March" before next November, so I can start a different novel for NaNoWriMo 2014.
I've also started writing TV show reviews for "Honest Reviews Corner". Okay, so I've only written one so far, but with new episodes of "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Following", I'll be submitting more. Constructive criticism welcome. Check it out at: http://honestreviewscorner.com/2013/12/11/sleepy-hollow-the-golem-s1e10/
2. IMPROVE MY HEALTH: Yes, I need to lose weight. Again. No, I don't expect to ever look like a super model. Going from my current size 20 down to a 16 is a reachable goal. That's 40-50 pounds, but then again, that's only one pound a week, tops. I can do that.
Yes, I need to develop better sleeping habits. No, I don't expect to get a solid eight hours every single night. I'd be happy with a solid six hours most nights, for starters.
Yes, I need to exercise more - which will help with the weight, sleep, and even arthritis issues - but I don't expect to be running any marathons this year, either. Walking the dog around the block every day is a reachable goal. Notice I say goal; I don't expect to start out walking the dog around the entire block every single day. Ain't gonna happen.
Yes, I need to focus more and waste time less. Who doesn't? No, I don't expect to be supermom all year. Adequate-mom is doable, with the occasional supermom day thrown in for good measure.
3. CLEAN HOUSE: Yep, my place is way overdue for a good spring cleaning. No, I don't mean "clean house" in the reorganize the staff way; I literally mean things like dusting, deep cleaning the carpets, cleaning up the yard, donating a ton of books to the library, donating a bunch of clothes, and tossing a bunch of trash I've left sitting because "it's still good and we might need it some day". I'll have to start while it's still winter, and will be lucky to finish by autumn, so spring cleaning is a bit of a misnomer. Nonetheless, my goal is to get the place cleaned up. Booyah.
4. CLEAN MY INTERNET HOUSE TOO: Yes, I'm on too many lists and social media things like four Twitter accounts, Facebook, four Gmail accounts, three cox.net email addresses, Wordpress, Scribd, Pinterest, several forums on various topics from "Phantom of the Opera" to Ancient Egypt, and probably a dozen or so other accounts I can't even remember right now. I've subscribed to so many lists I can't count them all, and sometimes I have two or even three email addresses receiving the same posts. Time to dig out ! And last, but not least:
5. RELAX AND ENJOY LIFE: Plain and simple. My new mantra will be "relax and enjoy". I'll need to work on ways to do this, of course. The basic counting to ten, taking a deep breath, "going to my happy place in my mind", and basic meditation are all good, but I need to get much better at those skills as well as developing more. I'm open to suggestions. ;-)
So there you go. That's what my 2014 is going to be all about. For at least a day or two, anyway, until life decides to throw me a curve ball or toss in a monkey wrench or insert-your-favorite-euphemism here.
If you haven't guessed by now, I've got quite a bit of Irish in me. So I'm going to leave you with a few more Irish sayings to mull over in the new year. Enjoy !
"A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures."
and:
"Don't give cherries to pigs or advice to fools."
"May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past."
I once read a similar saying that has stuck with me lo these many years:
"May the worst things to happen to you in the new year be no worse than the best things to happen to you last year."
Either way, the sentiment is the same. Think of the best thing that happened to you last year; my wish for you is that in the new year, even your worst day will still be better than last year's best.
Like every year, this past year was full of ups and downs for me, and I expect this new year will be too. The good news is the ups beat out the downs, every year.
Here's another Irish toast for you:
"'Go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís.'
May we be alive at this time next year.
I think that kind of sums it all up. If I live to see 2015 (which I certainly expect I will), then 2014 could have always been worse. Right?
Certainly 2013 wasn't the worst year of my life. I'm still standing - well, sitting at the moment - but I'm here. I have a whole new year to learn new things, develop better habits, make more friends, fix more wrongs... oh sure, I'll hit some roadblocks along the way, and some I'll have to find a way around because I won't be able to climb over them... but the best part is knowing I won't have to face any of that alone.
So here's to you, my family, friends, friendly acquaintances, partners in crime, all:
Slainte !
(Gaelic for Health ! or Cheers !)
Now, I guess I'm supposed to make some New Year's Resolutions. My normal resolution is to not make any new resolutions 'til I catch up with the old ones. But that's a bit vague, so I'll try to be a bit more specific.
1. WRITE: During NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) this past November, I finally wrote over 40,000 words for my new novel. I have so much more I want to add to it, so much I now think is crap that needs to be tossed, and only so much time and energy to do it in. Nonetheless, my goal is to finish "That Sunday in March" before next November, so I can start a different novel for NaNoWriMo 2014.
I've also started writing TV show reviews for "Honest Reviews Corner". Okay, so I've only written one so far, but with new episodes of "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Following", I'll be submitting more. Constructive criticism welcome. Check it out at: http://honestreviewscorner.com/2013/12/11/sleepy-hollow-the-golem-s1e10/
2. IMPROVE MY HEALTH: Yes, I need to lose weight. Again. No, I don't expect to ever look like a super model. Going from my current size 20 down to a 16 is a reachable goal. That's 40-50 pounds, but then again, that's only one pound a week, tops. I can do that.
Yes, I need to develop better sleeping habits. No, I don't expect to get a solid eight hours every single night. I'd be happy with a solid six hours most nights, for starters.
Yes, I need to exercise more - which will help with the weight, sleep, and even arthritis issues - but I don't expect to be running any marathons this year, either. Walking the dog around the block every day is a reachable goal. Notice I say goal; I don't expect to start out walking the dog around the entire block every single day. Ain't gonna happen.
Yes, I need to focus more and waste time less. Who doesn't? No, I don't expect to be supermom all year. Adequate-mom is doable, with the occasional supermom day thrown in for good measure.
3. CLEAN HOUSE: Yep, my place is way overdue for a good spring cleaning. No, I don't mean "clean house" in the reorganize the staff way; I literally mean things like dusting, deep cleaning the carpets, cleaning up the yard, donating a ton of books to the library, donating a bunch of clothes, and tossing a bunch of trash I've left sitting because "it's still good and we might need it some day". I'll have to start while it's still winter, and will be lucky to finish by autumn, so spring cleaning is a bit of a misnomer. Nonetheless, my goal is to get the place cleaned up. Booyah.
4. CLEAN MY INTERNET HOUSE TOO: Yes, I'm on too many lists and social media things like four Twitter accounts, Facebook, four Gmail accounts, three cox.net email addresses, Wordpress, Scribd, Pinterest, several forums on various topics from "Phantom of the Opera" to Ancient Egypt, and probably a dozen or so other accounts I can't even remember right now. I've subscribed to so many lists I can't count them all, and sometimes I have two or even three email addresses receiving the same posts. Time to dig out ! And last, but not least:
5. RELAX AND ENJOY LIFE: Plain and simple. My new mantra will be "relax and enjoy". I'll need to work on ways to do this, of course. The basic counting to ten, taking a deep breath, "going to my happy place in my mind", and basic meditation are all good, but I need to get much better at those skills as well as developing more. I'm open to suggestions. ;-)
So there you go. That's what my 2014 is going to be all about. For at least a day or two, anyway, until life decides to throw me a curve ball or toss in a monkey wrench or insert-your-favorite-euphemism here.
If you haven't guessed by now, I've got quite a bit of Irish in me. So I'm going to leave you with a few more Irish sayings to mull over in the new year. Enjoy !
"A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures."
and:
"Don't give cherries to pigs or advice to fools."
