It’s time to bid farewell to 2023. Many of us see a new year as a way of starting fresh, attacking a new goal and making positive changes. Really, we’re just moving from one day to the next but somehow seeing a new year on the calendar makes it feel different. 

That first week of January people start sentences with “and last year…” when they really could be saying “last week.” 

After the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, we will nurse our hangovers and get ready for a fresh start. We will make lofty resolutions that we will quickly break and beat ourselves up over our failure to stick to the unrealistic goals we’ve set. That sounds exhausting. 

Speaking of exhausting, we’re just about to wrap up a good six weeks of winter party season, which in truth should be called eating season. Between Thanksgiving, eight nights of latkes and sour cream, and all that festive, sugar-laden cheer, we’re all pretty full. The holiday season is so busy with parties and family gatherings, shopping for gifts and party-prep groceries with huge crowds of people doing the same thing. It’s too much! If you thought going to Simon Kohn’s on a Friday afternoon was busy, try Costco on Dec. 24. It’s enough to give anyone anxiety! 

Try changing your mindset to not get overwhelmed and see the snippets where you can find gratitude. This includes reminding yourself how fun it is to take your negative feelings and replace them with food.

You can read about natural cures for anxiety, but I didn’t like any of those foods, so I used Wite-Out to cover them and instead wrote in “chocolate” and “pasta.” Not eaten together, of course. I mean, I’m not a monster. I’m also not qualified to give life advice in any way, so keep that in mind.

For mental clarity, I’ve been repeating the phrase “time really flies when your life is falling apart.” Someone said burning sage helps clear negative energy, but I didn’t have any sage. So I lit a gluten free toaster waffle on fire and waved it around the house for a calming effect. Next time, I’ll just light a candle.

I’m all for a clean slate and a goal to go after. You can probably agree, however, that those unrealistic resolutions are a trap. Setting yourself up for failure isn’t fun, even though so many of us are really good at it. You should have done this, you should have done that … and now you’re just should-ing all over yourself.  What a mess.

Everything will slow down starting Jan. 1. We’ll all be cold and want to stay home and do cozy things in which blankets and fireplaces are involved, like read books and binge shows and not go out as much and slow down the socializing and relax. Sometimes you need to just lie on the couch and do nothing … for a whole month. 

End 2023 and kick off 2024 by being nice to yourself. I’m going to try it, too, but probably not until 2025 when I can really give it some attention. I’m too busy trying to clear the burnt waffle smell out of my house, and I think it’s going to take a while.