New Year’s resolutions can be tricky. Do we do the standard “I’m going to eat healthy and lose weight,” or do we resolve to do something else? Slim Randles is today’s Wednesday’s Guest sharing what some of the guys down at the coffee shop are considering as their resolutions for this year.
Since it is bitter cold across most of the country, let’s all have some hot chocolate and stay warm. Enjoy.
There’s nothing like New Year’s Resolution to make a guy feel completely inadequate, thought Doc as he sat and sipped coffee at the philosophy counter of the Mule Barn truck stop’s coffee shop. In other words, Thinking Central.
He happened to mention this to Steve, sitting on his left.
Steve shoved his hat back and looked at his dear friend. “Now Doc,” he said, “I don’t think you should talk that way. You see, the guys and I think you’re about the most adequate fella we know. Why, some of us are still here because of your adequacy. I know I am.”
Nods down the counter. “Me, too,” said Herb.
“Thanks, guys,” said Doc, “but that’s not the kind of adequacy I meant. For example, you boys know about my grapevines, and how I make a couple of bottles of wine out of the grapes each year, right?”
They nodded, and Herb almost choked on his coffee.
“And you know the wine is never quite … adequate. I believe Steve here told me it could take the chrome off his trailer hitch.”
More nods.
“That’s the kind of thing I’d like to be more adequate at in the coming year.”
Herb said, “Know what you mean, Doc. Thought I’d like to resolve to improve my golf game this year.”
“I didn’t know you played golf, Herb.”
“I don’t. That’s why I’d like to be more … adequate at it. Might even buy some clubs.”
“You know,” said Doc, “Sounds to me like a good plan.”
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Listen to Home Country with Slim Randles on your local classic country music station. It’s fun.
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Slim Randles writes a nationally syndicated column, “Home Country” that is featured in 380 newspapers across the country. He is also the author of a number of books including Saddle Up: A Cowboy Guide to Writing. That title, and others, are published by LPD Press. If you enjoy his columns here on the blog, you might want to check out the book Home Country. It features some of the best of the columns he has shared with us.
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Do you make a New Year’s resolution each year? How long are you able to stay with it? Mine always only lasted a month or two, until I started resolving to change some of the ways I was interacting with people. Listen more. Judge less. Stop criticizing. I tried to change just one thing each year and found that I was more mindful of that behavior for much longer.
I’ve decided that resolutions should be re-examined on a monthly basis. This once-a-year thing is overwhelming.
I agree, Patricia. It is too easy to forget them after a month or so. I also read an interesting blog in which the writer said we should think in terms of “I WANT to…” rather than “I SHOULD or I NEED to…” He said changing to that one word gives us a different mindset on trying to improve ourselves in some way. Made good sense to me.
Excellent question to get one thinking Maryann:)
So what about a ‘new day’s resolution.’ I believe my mother taught me this one. She would always, and still does say, ‘tomorrow is a new day.’
I’d get sooooooo aggravated with this comment and simply say, ‘yeah, whatever.’
But as more days go by, she is, as with about all things in life, ‘right.’
Father sure had a ‘time’ with this all through life. He and I never liked to admit our downfalls, especially at another’s expense.
Still, the fact remains, mother IS right…tomorrow is a new day.
So, for all those reading, if ya’ll have already over ate, over drank, over slept, etc., just know that today is a brand new day…HOO YAH 🙂
So true, Sheila. And my friend Pat Stoltey expressed the same thing in a recent post on The Blood-Red Pencil blog. Check it out if you want. http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2018/01/every-month-can-be-new-beginning.html