the old Janine in 2016

We’ve sailed into a brand new year, but not far enough that people are throwing their resolutions overboard. I can tell because there’s still a wait for treadmills and elliptical machines at the gym. Yet, for some reason, I haven’t been able to latch on to a resolution of my own. Of course, the tried and true are always there -- to tone up so that nothing jiggles and my collar bones protrude, and to give my house a colonic, meaning that I get rid of all the shit! Those are constant goals in my life and voices in my head, but trying to find a really good cause to strive for this year has eluded me… until now!

It struck me that maybe the way to be the best new Janine is to go back to being the old Janine.  I mean, she was pretty great!  Here are a few reasons why:

The Old Janine...

• Went to church more religiously
• Wrote thank you notes on stationary and mailed them with cute stamps -- she didn’t email or text a letter of thanks
• Helped keep Hallmark in business by sending greeting cards to family and friends, sometimes for no reason at all except to say, “thinking of you”
• Took classes at the local community college, such as photography, singing and Italian…
• Played tennis weekly with a group of friends she met from the tennis class she took at the local community college
• Signed up for 5 and 10K’s where she’d often be walking/running in a pool of tears because of how beautiful it was to see so many people committed to raising money for, calling attention to, and eradicating a common cause
• Tried new exercise classes at the gym -- sure, zumba looks like fun, but I don’t want to look like an idiot trying to figure it out, so I just say NO
• Hosted theme parties, such as the “Celebration of Love” Valentine’s soiree where everything was heart-shaped, home made, and impossibly adorable… like the lines of poetry that I hand wrote on strips of paper, rolled up and put inside tulips that would open throughout the night and reveal what was inside. I basically Martha Stewart-ed the crap out of these events! They required an arduous amount of work, but were insanely fun!
• Went to the beach alone and wrote in her journal
• Kept a journal and wrote in it much more faithfully than she does today
• Volunteered and did charity work -- these days, often the most I can do is bake for school functions… or “fake bake.” “Fake bake” is when you buy baked goods at the store, then put them in your own cute wrapping (cellophane bags tied with twine and a sprig of lavender, or a cute gingham ribbon) and make it look like you really baked.

Full disclosure -- some of the things on this list were the pre-marriage, pre-two kids, pre-divorce, pre-head of the household Janine. They’re from back in the day when the biggest decision I had to make was whether I’d get my nails done in baby pink or fire engine red.  I’m not ridiculous enough to think I can go back and be the more responsibility-free me, but there are parts of the old young girl that I can still tap.

So I resolve to be a little more like the old Janine in 2016! It’s my personal journey back to the future, back to when I had a little more gusto, a little more drive, a little more creativity, and a lot more energy, time, and patience… and maybe, just maybe I was a little more me. I raise a sugar-rimmed glass of a special cranberry martini I once made for a theme party, and I toast to the new adventures of the old Janine!

Happy New Year, Everyone... and may we all be our best selves!

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