Is it too late to wish a Happy New Year to readers and friends? After all it’s only the fifth day of a 365-day year so it’s still pretty new by most accounts.
However there is the social aspect to consider when something becomes tiresome, or inappropriate, or even awkward.
If it’s the first time you’ve seen someone in 2014 it might be appropriate, but then again not if it’s Feb. 1, so what’s a guy to do?
Other greetings are more clear cut. Happy birthdays are pretty much on the day of, or at least within a day or two, otherwise it comes from the belated birthday rack.
Merry Christmas has a little more staying power but New Year’s follows closely on its heels so it’s a little more obvious when the transition takes place.
However after New Year’s there’s a virtual wasteland until the next holiday, which by the way is the relatively new Family Day in February in these parts, but it’s much too early to wish one a great Family Day, not to mention there’s no tradition of doing so.
So, let’s say it’s OK to say Happy New Year to virtually anyone (well if you haven’t done it to close friends and family by now it might be getting a tad late) you come into contact with in the first week of the first month so I’m getting this in just under the wire……..Happy New Year and may you and your loved ones enjoy a healthy and prosperous 2014…….
…….I might be actually getting a little old for too many New Year’s activities, my wife and I went to a movie on New Year’s Eve which my boys thought was ‘oh so boring’ but what do they know?
But the movie was fine, and we weren’t the only ones, and everything worked out great.
Heck, might even do it again next year.
When you’re young there’s pressure to start the new year with a bang, when you’re not so young that lack of pressure is one of the few things you appreciate about being a little more mature.
Not that we can’t party hardy (did I really just use that phrase?) when we want to but the year is still young, OK?…..
…..and that’s the thing about a new year, it’s like a blank page, a do-over, a mulligan, a free pass, well you get the idea.
Of course it’s not really cause we bring over a ton of baggage, some of it around our waist, as we turn the page, not to mention it’s January and it’s cold and the next holiday isn’t until….
But there’s always hope one can change just a little, or get to that long-anticipated project, or get fit, or start a savings plan, or write that book, or all of the above.
That’s my problem – I shoot for the moon and settle for something less, oh, about Jan. 9 or so.
And I know I’m not alone.
Maybe the key is baby steps. You know like Bill Murray in that movie What About Bob?
You know, every marathon begins with a first step, doesn’t it?
Or then again it’s more about actually getting off the couch and doing something about your procrastination problem.
The other thing about getting older is that with each passing year you realize life is short, terribly, terribly short.
Just like it takes awhile to get used to writing 2014 on cheques for the first little while (if you still do that antiquated practice), some of us are still adjusting to the fact that it’s not the 1900s any longer. So without any further delay, happy new year and get out there and work on those resolutions. The clock is ticking.
