Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Sir Winston Churchill is credited with another saying: “Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” 

Christmas and New Year’s have come and gone  yet again and it is time for New Year’s resolutions. Not just for a new year, but for a new decade! 

I have the usual resolustions on my mind, which include to eat healthier and excercise more. The older I become, the more I realize the importance of that resolution.

When I was a teenager, the prospect of the year 2020 seemed inconceivable.  I actually believed Jesus would return before 2020. Yet, here we are! 

The new decade gave me reason to pause and think about what life will look like in 2030. 

Losing many people close to me has made me  feel like I need to hug everyone I love a little tighter and treasure the time spent with them.

2019 has been a whirlwind of a year. It was the first year I spent without both parents, having lost my mom shortly before Christmas, 2018. 

In her final 20 years, my mom used to comment that she couldn’t believe she was as old as she was. I am starting to relate to how she felt as I grow older. 

We are all so busy and the years seem to fly by. Many of us juggle full time jobs and family responsibilities, in addition to other priorities we have deemed important in our lives. 

Time is a precious gift. My resolution is to prioritize my time as well as I can in 2020 and into the future. 

Earlier this week, a couple of my sisters and I carved out some time after commitments at work and church and visited our  cousin Lee Gilyard for his 85th birthday. We really enjoyed our visit. Lee told us he was moved that we took the time after a long day to spend an hour with him on his birthday. 

I asked Lee what advice he could share about getting older and any resolutions for the new year. Lee told me: “Time flies by! The only way I seem to be able to measure it is by looking back.”

As I reflect on 2019, I find myself looking back on a couple milestones. The first was turning 50 in April and the second was my son celebrating his 30th birthday in December.

I surprised Alex with a party at the family farm. Alex was, indeed,  astonished as approximately 80 people convened to celebrate. It was a very special time as neighbors, relatives, our church family and friends were packed in the farmhouse like sardines. 

Gratitude washed over me as many aging relatives we rarely see made appearances at Alex’s party. They took the time and made the effort to spend the day with us.

Alex was moved at the amount of family and friends who made the time to attend his party. Such was the case with our great aunt Mary Gilyard (97) and cousin Helen Hyttsten (93). I’m grateful my son also cherishes the gift of family and friends.

I have come to realize it is more important than ever to surround myself with positive and encouraging people and to focus on the blessings in my life. I am making an effort to be  grateful in 2020. 

I am just one person. Yet, it is my goal to make the world a better place and to celebrate my success, no matter how small.