I’ve always loved a new year…well, a new anything for that matter.  When I was in school I loved new notebooks or new school clothes.  As I get older I love new cars or a new purse…I really love a new purse.  All opportunities to get rid of the old stains or used pages. New and shiny..a fresh start.  Anyone that knows me will tell you I have a little OCD when it comes to a lot of things, so for me new has always been the way to go.  I’m sure there’s crap in there about never committing to something for the long haul…yeah, yeah, yeah.  Everything is better at the beginning of the year, right?  This year was different.

We just got back from a week in Washington DC.  I love that city.  It makes me proud and I believe in what our country is supposed to represent when I’m there.  But that’s another post.  So, we all spent a week looking at the monuments, having great food and exploring the museums.  Being together.  We topped it off with South Pacific at The Kennedy Center.  If you’ve never been to the Kennedy Center, you MUST go. What a wonderful “living” tribute to a former president.  Really inspired.  Anyway, we also went to The National Archives and saw our country’s most important documents. Guess what?  Really wrinkled and old pages.  Some stains and just…old.  But I didn’t care.  The words, the substance took my breath away.  Never would I want a “new” document.

My children are getting older.  They are not babies anymore. They do not have that sweet new baby smell, in fact they can be quite stinky sometimes. I have teenagers with scars from childhood accidents, or breakouts from an all night chocolate binge. They are…used, worn in…they tell a story of their life so far and they are sensational. I would never want to start over.  I would never want a “new” one.

As I get older I’m learning to appreciate what time and age, stains and wrinkles do to things.  I think I like it.  I don’t want to start over.  At this point I want to take a minute, flip through some of the old pages and keep going.  The old pages can provide a wonderful cushion for the new ones.  Adding on…not starting over.  For this New Year I like that idea.

Now, let’s not get crazy.  I still have a shiny new calendar for 2011 and I did get a little tingly hanging it up in my office, but I’ll keep the same notebooks.  This year I’ll appreciate what has come before me and do my very best to add on.

That’s all from the laundry room.  Happy New Year.  Snuggle!

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