A New Year

A New Year

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

December 27 2017

I had a lot of company over the Christmas holidays. Some were here just to open gifts. Some came to share a meal and others were here for a few days. People were coming and going while I was the one constant in the celebrations.

Because I live alone, the whole experience was very different from my everyday life. There were menus to plan, groceries to buy, gifts to buy and wrap. And I worked throughout the entire preparation stage.

We had so much fun - laughing and playing games and sharing stories.

By Tuesday morning everyone was gone and I was absolutely exhausted. I figured the best thing was to just head to bed which I did!

When I woke up, I focussed on getting things back in order as I still had two days to work at the office before New Year's Day. Dishes to wash, sheets for the laundry, gift items to put away. I was on a mission.

Setting the alarm was not an exciting prospect but I did it. Heading into twenty-three degrees below zero with a trunk and backseat full of recycling also wasn't on my wish list but I accepted the fact that the holidays were over.

There wasn't much traffic. I was the first to arrive at the office. So, I turned on the lights, booted up the computer and started the day by revising a letter that I had been working on the previous week.

Then I started wondering why my client was late. I wondered if perhaps my son, Mark, had slept in. Something was wrong! So I sent Mark a text message that read "Aren't we working today?" And then it hit me! This was our day off! I wasn't suppose to be working.

I had only been at the office for about a half hour, but it was time to turn off the lights, lock the door and head home.

During the drive, I began to chuckle! I had made a mistake that actually turned into a blessing. Now I had a whole day without any demands. I could do absolutely anything that I wanted to do!

It is now the beginning of a new year and we cannot predict everything that will happen during the months ahead. My wish for you, however, is that all of your mistakes turn into blessings.

Happy New Year, everyone!