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Saturday, January 5, 2008

The More Things Change

So as not to unleash my horrendous French on you, I made sure to look up this famous phrase for grammatical accuracy: "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose." I have no idea how to add in the two special French accent marks here--the squiggly (cedilla) under the c in ca or the tent-ish thing (circumflex) above the first e in meme--but, foreign symbols aside, it means "The more things change, the more they remain the same."

So true. Especially in this time of New Year's Resolutions. Mine, incidentally, are always the same: Write more, eat less. I know this because I was cleaning out a desk drawer and found my journal from 2001. Same exact resolution. Which, I've decided for the first time, is actually a good thing.

Why?

Because, when looked at in its most positive light, is there ever a time when I don't want moderate, healthy eating to be one of my vows? Is there ever a year when I don't want to strive to write more new text? And I have other, more family-oriented goals, too, which I don't even claim as "resolutions" because they're already such a cornerstone in my life: time with my husband and son, private chats with my good friends and close family members, moments alone to reflect and dream...

Maybe I have the same resolutions every year because my priorities are, essentially, unchanged. I want to spent quality time with those I love, I want to take better care of myself and I want to write stories I believe in.

Which means I'll probably be saying the same things in 2080 (should I be so fortunate to live that long :-) as I am in 2008. Guess I'll just have to deal with this marked lack of originality later.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

They're good, realistic goals, which seems to be the best route for resolutions.

Miss you! See you soon.

L.A. Mitchell said...

I think your three resolutions sound fabulous and well-grounded. I'm so glad I met you in 2007. Maybe 08 is our "license to sell" year :)

Take care~

Anonymous said...

Marilyn,
Your blog is fun to read! I'll have to check in every so often. I love that you used French in your latest entry!! :) :) And I love that you mentioned L-Bar-X... I got all warm and fuzzy inside as the memories came flooding back.

Oh, and I especially love that your hankering for ice scream is still as strong as it always was. :) Wanna share a bucket of frozen yogurt by the river sometime? ;)

Love ya!
Brettski

Marilyn Brant said...

Happy New Year, Eliza and L.A.! You two added such brightness to my 2007--thank you!--and here's hoping '08 will be wonderful for you both :).

And Brettski!!! I'm so glad you stopped by--it's been too long... You know I'm up for frozen yogurt ANYTIME. And how about we rewrite some song lyrics while we're at it??!