not so new years

Confession of the week: I really don't like New Years. Yes, I've cheerily said "Happy New Year!!" to several people this week. And I don't hold a grudge. But, I really don't feel like this time is the NEW YEAR. It still feels cold. There's no change in the weather. The school year is not even half over. I am still sneezing from packing up the fake tree and putting it back out in the garage. And, yes, I still have lights up outside.

Even though it technically is a new number I write on my checks, I don't FEEL like anything is new.

This week I was thinking about newness, and longing for the real beginning: Fall. Even though I'm not Jewish, I am totally down with the idea of Jewish new year. In Fall, there is a delicious change of seasons. In Fall, the school year is new and laid out in front of me like a blanket full of possibilities. In Fall, it's my birthday. Fall is the best part of the baseball season.

I've been on the Fall=new year schedule for my entire life: first in elementary and high school, then college and grad school, then teaching school. I think at this point that the new year is wired into my being as starting in the Fall.

As much as I love the tantalizing possibilities of the NEW YEAR, I think I will still celebrate in the fall. Maybe from now on I will do New Year's resolutions on my birthday. A new year, a new age, a new resolution to start fresh.

Happy New (middle of the) Year!
K