So here we are, 2012.
This year I am not going to vow to lose weight, though I need to.
Nor am I going to offer to drink less. Drinking more should definitely a priority, however.
This January, staring at the blank calendar of 2012, I am going to resolve to find the positive in every single day.
2011 was tough. No-one died, no-one got sick, it was just a year when too many plans got abandoned, too many false starts were made.
This year I will focus on the good that already exists.
Three days in and it has already been a challenge but there has been a little to be happy about.
I will write off New Year’s Day. Literally nothing happened. At all. I could fake some mush about being with loved ones but that would be bullshit. The most exciting event was David Wicks’ return to Eastenders for Pat’s death. However, my three-year-old refused to go to bed spoiling a seminal moment in soap history. Still, it was most definitely a highlight in what is generally one of the most disappointing days of the year rivalled mainly by Christmas Day.
So roll in the 2nd January, where we edge towards normality and face up to our festive hangover which generally involves a large drain in the bank balance. Money largely spent on gifts that people have forgotten about, booze that is the only way to survive the organised fun that generally populates this time of year and food that helps stave off the fucking boredom.
So it was with great delight that I experienced my first Aldi shopping trip. My excitement at picking up a jar of mixed fruit jam to placate my toddler for a mere 29p was the best natural high I’ve had in some time. Budget baps swiftly followed alongside many more fridge and larder staples. Shopping in Aldi will be my new New Year’s Resolution. Sod the January detox when you can enjoy Ballycastle Irish Cream accompanied by pizza, pudding and a bar of chocolate for under a tenner. Result!
The Aldi cheer was shortlived after watching Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road. A film that depressingly documents the unravelling of a marriage between characters played by Leo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet. The wife in the piece dares to question and challenge the emptiness of their suburban lives with tragic consequences. Not quite the antidote to the January blues I was in search of.
So I would have to dig deep to find something today to make me smile. Waking up to a hurricane banging shut the stair door several times was not the best start and the windy conditions meant that my toddler and I would be couped up in our tiny flat for the day. Mmm. Never the most inspiring propsect.
However, while searching for envelopes I found tucked at the back of a drawer something in Amazon packaging. I opened it up quite excited to discover a Thomas the Tank Engine Misty Island DVD I’d bought for my little boy and completely forgotten to give it to him for Christmas. He was ecstatic and seemed to buy my tale about Santa leaving it there, keeping the magic of Christmas alive for him a little longer. Plus it bought me a couple of hours peace and quiet.
So let’s see what tomorrow brings? Back to work, so I will have to be creative to find the good in that!