{"id":133,"date":"2007-01-01T12:23:39","date_gmt":"2007-01-01T12:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/?p=133"},"modified":"2007-01-01T12:26:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-01T12:26:00","slug":"the-party%e2%80%99s-over-or-is-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/?p=133","title":{"rendered":"The Party\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Over or Is It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MsoNormal\">New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day is finally here.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">2006 is behind us.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Christmas, other holiday celebrations and New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Eve parties are all done but the cleaning up and the mild headache associated with a bit of imbibing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Then there is the date change.  If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re like me, it will take a few checks to make the mistake of writing 2006 before we get in the habit of writing 2007.  After all, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been doing it now for 356 days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Visiting family and friends are on their way home.  Your house can get back to normal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Then there was the rush to get last minute donations in order to get a good tax benefit from them.  It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all said and done now.  No chance to change it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In addition to all this, and for all the hours it took to get Christmas decorations up, many of our friends and family already have the lights down, the decorations put away, and a house back to some semblance of normal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Yes, the party is over.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Or is it?<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">There are some things to think about as we begin 2007.   Consider these.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">1. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve      had a renewed sense of hope and a significant reminder that spirituality can      be and is important to us and others around us.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">2. For those      of us who want to effect changes in our own life, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a time of      reflections and renewal that we may be able to make some positive adjustments      to our lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">3. We had      a chance to deepen connections with family and friends.  This may just make our 2007 a happier      one as we continue nurturing those relationships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">4. 2007      brings opportunity to offer our skills and financial resources to others      who are less fortunate than us.  It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s      a clean slate of time and talent sharing just waiting for us to embrace      the needs of others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">5. This      year brings us the opportunity to decide how we can effect change through      various political arenas.  While all      of us may not be passionate about this as others, there are many of us who      will make a difference thought actively participating in the political life      of our country \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even if only at the polls.  Yes, 2007 gives us a clean slate to work      on making positive changes in local, state, and national political arenas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">6. 2007      also gives us the opportunity to take better care of the world and      environment we live it.  Becoming      more aware of how we use the natural resources we are blessed with is      going to be critical for us and our future generation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s survival.  Conserving and being kinder to our      environment will be important for all of us to consider in 2007.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">7. Becoming      a better parent or caregiver is even more important in 2007.  No one said it would be easy, but taking      care of children or ailing parents is a task many of us are facing      today.  2007 brings a renewal of      that responsibility to those of us in those positions.  We must both raise responsible citizens      and take care of those who sacrificed much for us. Find resources around      you that will enable you to be better at those tasks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">8. One      last thought.  Taking care of      ourselves.  Now that is probably one      of the most important ones we can consider.  Making even subtle changes in our lives will      help us all be better for us and the ones in love.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<ol type=\"1\" start=\"1\" style=\"margin-top: 0in\"><\/ol>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>My wish for you today<\/strong> &#8211; as we begin 2007 &#8211; is that you embrace positive actions in your daily life that will have a profound impact on you, those you love and care for, and those you work for.  You may just find that making these efforts will afford you the best year of your life yet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">~Joellen<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Tomorrow I spend time on one more very important consideration for 2007.  Since, to me, this one is the most important of all of the things we should consider, it will have it&#8217;s own &#8220;day.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day is finally here. 2006 is behind us. Christmas, other holiday celebrations and New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Eve parties are all done but the cleaning up and the mild headache associated with a bit of imbibing. Then there is the date change. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re like me, it will take a few checks to make the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,27,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-events","category-living-life-to-the-fullest","category-teenagers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}