Happy New Year!

I found these funny napkins at the grocery store and bought them for our New Year's Eve party. They crack me up. Even though I won't adhere to these resolutions, they do have a ring of truth.

The thing is, I do have one New Year's Resolution this year:
I resolve to continue to improve my brain chemistry so that I can function well as an active, responsible, thinking adult.


Here's a story about me ...

When I was in 8th grade at the parochial school where I grew up, I was a very awkward, insecure, yet bright child. My classmates didn't like me much because I was a rule follower. The other side of that virtue is that I could be a tattle-tale when the other kids didn't follow the rules.

So I felt like an outsider.

One morning I found a card on my desk. It looked like it was cut out of a box of candy. It said:

I suspect that my 8th grade teacher, Sr. Grace Marie, placed it on my desk. I was never sure. But I took it as a private message that, bad as things might be, I had within me the power to change my life for the better.

The thought of that teacher's gesture still brings tears to my eyes.

Fast forward through my life. I'd been through college, a horrible year as a full-time volunteer for the Church, the birth of three daughters, a failed marriage, a wonderful new marriage that works, the deaths of two brothers and both my parents. It's now 1999.

As a student of literature, I have a love for words. And I think in part due to the card above, I collect quotations that inspire me to live a larger life. So in September of 1999 when I found myself trying to recover from my dad's death the previous February, I began a new routine. I called it Today's Phrase. I'd pick a favorite quotation, paste it into an e-mail, and send it to a select group of friends. I continued this routine until March 2003.

Fast forward again to 2007. I faced quite a challenge when I learned that my brain chemistry needed some major adjustments. A chemical imbalance led to faulty thinking and some unfortunate and costly decisions. With the help of my doctors and counselor, I'm now well on the road to recovery.

I've learned that besides being diligent about taking my meds, I can help my brain function better by feeding it new, healthy information on a regular basis. I can block some of the old loops of destructive thoughts by creating new pathways of more positive thinking.

In the spirit of that knowledge, I thought it might be time to resurrect Today's Phrase. So periodically I will post a quotation or affirmation here on my blog. Perhaps by giving myself these mental boosts and sharing them here, I can spread a bit of the hope I'm beginning to feel again.

In that context, I offer a January 1st Today's Phrase: