It's great to be able to start fresh, isn't it? You take a deep breath and relax your shoulders after all that shopping, gift wrapping, cleaning, hosting, traveling and celebrating. You get a good night's sleep, wake up and open your eyes to sunshine and look forward with optimism to another year not knowing what lies ahead but welcoming any change with open arms nonetheless.

I have decided to make one resolution this year and I'm keeping it simple:

I will try to be a nicer person.

It encompasses a wide array of possibilities and it seems to be what I really need right now. You see, I haven't been the happiest person I know and I was always finding other people or things to blame for my crankiness. The truth is, I just wasn't happy with who I was and how I was acting. Looking back on the past few months, it seems I was being rather selfish and obsessive about a lot of things. I was getting lazy with the housework and was feeling overwhelmed by the pressure I felt I needed to place on myself. And I wasn't giving myself enough rest. Hence, the Dr. Jeckyll and Mrs. Hyde complex. By resolving to be a nicer person, essentially a better person, I am going to tackle all of the little things that have gotten in the way of me being a Mrs. Cleaver of sorts. This one resolution is so simple, that instead of being another burden as sometimes resolutions can be, it has set me free to enjoy whatever 2009 will throw my way.