This past weekend, I engaged in the tradition of the reverse holiday - the dismantling of the Christmas tree so recently procured and adorned in all its finery, the centerpiece in the festive atmosphere of our home. Putting up the tree is fun, and even at my age, holds the excitement of anticipation and unknown treasures, as you look forward to what might be waiting for you under that tree in a few weeks.
Taking the tree down is depressing and sad - all the pretty little ornaments packed away in their individual boxes, lonely and hidden for another year, when the season will once again overtake me. It is difficult not to recall the past year when you take down the tree, I think. There is something about the dismantling of the tree that makes me want to dismantle and dissect my life, as well.
What has the past year held for me? What did I do right? What did I get wrong? What will I continue to do, and what will I never do again?
I have gone through many changes in this past year, both internal and external, it seems. I have gained and lost - I don't know if in equal measure, and I'm not sure it even matters.
While many people use New Year's as a chance to make resolutions and address changes that need to be made, I become retrospective and introspective. I think you have to know where you went right and wrong in order to know what to keep and what to throw out. So the process of moving forward involves looking backward as its first step.
In looking backwards, I am grateful to be leaving 2008 behind. It was a hard year, both for me personally, and in the life of this nation. There are many people suffering hardship of various kinds right now, and we all hope that 2009 is a kinder, gentler year, I am certain.
But I also take the hard life lessons of 2008 with me, and I hope they make me a better, fairer, more thoughtful, more dedicated, more effective person going forward. If there is a reason to celebrate the start of a new year, it has to be the opportunity to clean the slate and start fresh once again, with new attitude and new enthusiasm and new hope for what is to come.
But I am a realist. Life is what it is, and I am unlikely to see a change in my luck, simply because the calendar has turned a page. However, I think much of what we see as good luck or bad luck can be reframed to produce a whole new attitude. [Please note I said much, not all. If I thought it was all based on perspective, I would certainly change my course immediately to fix the problem!] So if I have a resolution for the year 2009, it will be to reframe the negatives that are thrown my way, so that I can see where the glass is half full whenever possible.
I got the opportunity to put this resolution into practice early, as my toilet fell apart, delivering a watery mess to my upstairs bathroom floor on January 2. Late Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend, and suddenly, I have a water saturated bathroom. Naturally, because it will make things more exciting, [and let's face it, I am still me,] my water shut off valve breaks in the middle of the fiasco, allowing even more of the wet stuff to spew unabated. I go to turn off my brand new water main shut off valve, to find that it, too, leaks, although not at crisis levels.
At this point, I threw up my hands, I informed all who were listening that I hate my life, and I called the plumber. Who was, as you might expect, out of town for the weekend, with no backup available. Next, I call my fix-it guy, who saves me regularly when I'm in over my head, but no answer.
Now what? Naturally, I head to the hardware store, mother in tow, to see what I can do about the situation. And this is where the reframing begins for me.
Because my guy, Kevin, called me while I was there contemplating which shut off valve I needed, and offered to drop everything to come and save me. An offer which I accepted with alacrity.
The floor, although damaged, is not as warped as I would have feared, and miracle of miracles, there was no damage to the ceiling below. This, despite the bleach filled cleaner tablet that I had placed in the tank for the first time ever, immediately prior to the leak occurring. {Could those two things be related? Hmmmm.]
The bolts, which had rusted out, allowing the leak to occur in the first place, are similar to bolts in the remaining toilets, so Kevin will come and replace them the next time he has an hour free with nothing better to do, so this will not happen again.
I have a new shut off valve, one which is less prone to breakage, so that will hopefully not be a problem any longer on that toilet.
It only cost me $39 to get the whole situation under control. [Not counting the damaged vinyl flooring, of course. But let's face it, it's my kids' bathroom, so we all know that isn't going to get replaced any time soon.]
All in all, I was very fortunate, because the whole thing could have been a lot worse.
Reframing the situation will take some practice, I fear, but it is possible, even for a cynic like me. Maybe along with the Christmas tree, I will have thrown pessimism into the compost heap, and 2009 will be the year of the renewal. Wait! Is that hope I see?
Happy New Year to you, and here's wishing you many more to come!
