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Show : ;. MldDDDimti; anon . SaisaDims v Tr 'p liy)an tl"'lat Falling leaves spell rising optimism I'm afraid we have been celebrating New Year's Eve on the wrong day. In my opinion, autumn is the time for resolutions, for starting over with a .clean slate not winter. ' . For as long as I can remember", I've associated fall with a new school year with first-day pictures of a new, grown-up me setting out with sharp pencils and big plans. And even now that I am out of school, my biorhythms still are tied into the semester system. Now, when the leaves begin to crunch underfoot, I can feel my engines revving up. The changing slant of evening sunlight and the cold, clear nights trigger my resolve and I find myself cleaning out desk drawers to make way for new projects. : ; In January, however, I feel no such surge of growth or optimism. My routine is locked in by short days and the limitations of a snow-filled environment. By Jan. 1, I am anxious to retire from the social whirl of the holidays and sit back with a good book. My ambition then leans more toward hibernation than forging ahead with fresh ideas. Typically, my New Year's resolutions reflect the doldrums of winter. They center dispiritedly around self-scolding pronouncements uttered with signs of disappointment. ' ' If I was asked to make resolutions on Sept. l, however, the results would be very different. W ith summer (and its attendant distractions of sun and fun) out of the way I am ready for serious commitments. While laying in '''..',.v"i:'i"J:;'".' "Js':''f''-': .."V- ' :-''t firewood and supplies for winter, I usually pick up a few ' new projects to knit or paint or build. Granted, the cedar chest already is full of unfinished efforts, but now I am ready to take these in hand with promises of completion. In the fall I bring them all out into plain sight to be worked on, but in January I am more apt to stuff them into a closet and take a nap. Actually, any other time of seasonal change would be more appropriate for starting a new year than the dead of winter. Ini spring, for instance, there is a universal resurgence of optimism. People, it seems, are not as inclined to throw in the towel when they are surrounded by daffodils as when they are inundated by towering snowbanks and long nights. , Spring's only drawback as a serious candidate for the new year is that it also is associated with frivolity and . romance neither of which provides a very solid basis for ambition and resolve. September, on the other hand, carries a little more weight. The onus of the coming winter adds a sense of duty to the season. Perhaps that is why it has been adopted by many businesses as an ideal time for : beginning new fiscal years, issuing annual repoorts and setting corporate goals. ; I think they have the right idea. In fact, I am going to start my own new year right now. That way I will have a head start on my list of resolutions when all of you are just sitting down to write yours January 1. |
