My Big Fat New Year's Day

I did trudge down to the marina to stand beneath the fancy party and watch the fireworks. To do that, I have to walk down several blocks in one direction, go through a whole in the fence to the park, walk across the park (very short) and then walk back in the other direction a little farther than I've walked in the first place. It's really not particularly far. I did all that walking in a heavy fog. Not in my brain. The whole bay was in a thick fog. It wasn't until I arrived at the 'party' that the I realized there was a fog in my brain that caused me to do all that walking in the thick fog and not have it occur to me that you can not see fireworks in a thick fog.

This happens on July 4th sometimes as well. The fireworks go off in the fog. We see lights flashing in the fog. Then the smoke from the fireworks clouds what's left of the fireworks themselves. Happy Birthday America!

Last night we could only hear the fireworks. Not even a flash in the fog. Someone could have saved a lot of dough by simply having a recording of fireworks.

After it was all over, a small boy was standing out on the deck at the fancy party with some sort of light up pin wheel. I shouted up to him, "HOORAY! You have the only fireworks here tonight!" He seemed tickled. I walked home.

Happy New Year!

I have a question: Does the practice of making New Year's resolutions have any root in our Catholic faith? It seems that every time we go to confession we make a resolution (or two, or a hundred)but are New Years resolutions even BETTER seeing as it's just after Advent and Christmas?

Nope. We tend to think of these things as always being the way they are now. But the date of the start of the New Year has moved around a bit, not to mention that lots of people don't recognize the January 1st date as we speak.

As Catholics, I'm not sure we've come to rest on the official start of the Church calendar. Have we? Maybe we did and I missed out. It's either Christmas day or the Baptism of Jesus. I think.
Whatever.

I'm not big on New Year's resolutions. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to see people stop smoking, drinking, gambling, overeating, and start brushing their teeth more often, cleaning the oven more than once a year, jogging, trotting, walking, making an earthquake preparedness kit and taking up knitting.

Learn a language! That's my advice!

I've just never gotten my brain around using some arbitrary date to start something you could start anytime you realize you need to make that change. It's just an excuse to be lazy procrastinators.

I do have some advice about adhering to New Year's resolutions, should you decide to wade into having some.

Did you know that lots and lots of people who are in rehab and AA 'relapse' all the time? I read somewhere that the 'cure' rate for people in rehab is a mere ten or fifteen per cent. Should those people just give up and head out and find a corner crack salesman? Of course not. What do they do? They go back to rehab, back to the meetings and they spend another day sober. And another.

I just don't understand how someone who is trying to stop smoking, who cracks and has a cigarette, then turns around and goes berserk and starts smoking like a stack again. What is the deal there? "I tried to quit, but I couldn't." Nonsense. You did quit and then you started smoking again and you used your little slip as an excuse to go nuts. Stop again. Don't buy any cigarettes. Make yourself into a cigarette bum or a pathetic ashtray and trashcan diver. At the very least you'll smoke a lot less. We'll be so happy you smell better most of the time.

I know it's hard. If you've tried to stop smoking and taken up knitting as your New Year's resolutions, someone might end up stabbed to death with a knitting needle.


I saw a program about a man who could barely walk he was so fat, poor dear. He lost ever single excess pound and was Mr. Fit. He did all the talk shows and gave out advice. Then one day a couple of years later, he went to Coney Island for his birthday and decided to treat himself to a Coney Island hot dog. It was so good he had another....and another and another. Now he can barely walk because he is so fat, poor dear.

I understand having the first hot dog. I even understand having ten hot dogs on the same day. But what in the world went on there the next day with this fellow? Glory be! Where did his three years of strength and determination go?

What am I talking about? I've lost my train of thought....

One day at a time. Make a change. If you fail, make the same change again tomorrow.


Now, we all begin thinking about 2009, and our New Year's resolutions. My resolution is to go on a diet, like a zillion other people. I need to lose a significant amount of weight - more than one hundred pounds.


I eat too much, and I move about too little. Is this what the sin of gluttony is and should that be part of my confession?

I liked your earlier post about patron saints of dieting. I am asking them to pray for me as I begin this diet and also to think seriously about how my dietary choices are affecting not only my body, but my soul.

I eat too much, and I move about too little. Is this what the sin of gluttony is and should that be part of my confession? Yeah, I guess so. Far be it from me to decide you've crossed over the line of not paying attention to how much you eat and the idea that you might be a little lazy about exercise to the sins of gluttony and sloth. Gluttony, after all, is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Are you really tipping the scale that far?

But, if it helps you to look at it that way, go for it!

Do you have a plan? I hear Weight Watchers is very good. I read somewhere that if you walk a half an hour every day you won't gain any more weight at least. Maybe it was one hour.

It's going to be a lot of work. Saint involvement is a huge plus.

Maybe tomorrow we should have a talk about what the sin of gluttony actually entails.