new year, new start

There is something wonderful about the first few weeks of January... it feels as though anything is possible. We can chat about this year's trips, work on new projects, form ideas about how we'll drastically change the world, catch the Biggest Loser premier, etc.

I especially love that you can feel as though you've reset the counter. No matter how the prior year happened to play out, you can shake it off and a begin again.

I recognize that this can be done any ol' date. I recognize that this is a lot like grace. Maybe I'd benefit from taking on that mindset much more often than once every 12 months.

Speaking of grace in the new year, here's a story for you...

We recently spent the entire morning running around. It was into the afternoon when we stopped at the pet store for errands. Maybe buying food for Dixon was the trigger, because we simultaneously remembered that we forgot to feed the dog. My first thought was "oh no, I hope he's not mad at us!" my second thought was "oh come on, Of course not! He's a dog not a person."

So we buy the food and (as a treat) we find a dog bed on sale and head home to feed the pooch.

We walk in to discover the mat in his cage has been shredded to pieces. We also find a dog that would not look us in the eyes.

(just cause you hide under the bed, doesn't mean we can't see you)

So now do we immediately give this bad dog his new bed? Was it just a little bit our fault for leaving a hungry puppy? Is it bad that we said "yes" to both of those questions?

Here you go pup. I'm sure you've learned nothing, but we can't help but give you a new start again and again... whether you deserve it or not. Its January, we'll all receive the same.