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.