New Years Resolution

Every year my family has goes to our cabin in BC for New Year’s Eve.  It’s tradition that we build a bonfire from the branches that fell from the trees over the fall.  My sister and I take this tradition VERY seriously… making the burn pile bigger than a car each year. It’s another tradition in my family to write down all our new years resolutions and throw them into the fire.  It’s a strange tradition but it’s my favourite one by far because it was the tradition that changed my life forever. 

December 31^st 2009 was the New Year’s Eve that changed me completely. 

This New Years Eve started out normally, doing nothing during the day and prepping the bonfire before we started our fondue dinner.  I ate my dinner just as I would’ve any other New Years Eve, completely unaware of the events that were going to happen in just a few short hours.  After everyone finished eating each family member left the table to write their own new years resolutions, this really gives each of us privacy to write anything we wanted so we could be as honest about our resolutions as possible.  I remember walking into my room and signing about how the whole concept of new years resolutions were a total waist of time.  Bitterly I thought about each resolution I threw into the fire year after year, none of them working out.  I jokingly decided to write down something completely random, something that could never happen even in the next year, or even if I devoted the rest of my life to it.  Pulling out a plain piece of paper from my desk I write down the first thing that popped into my head that fit all that criteria; to become a mermaid.  I slipped the piece of paper with my gag resolution written on it into the pocket of my black corduroy pants and set out to the fire.  The rest of the night went exactly like it should have, the same as every New Years Eve before.   That was, until my brand new iPod touch from Christmas chimed midnight and each of us threw in our little pieces of paper.  The minute my paper hit the flame a huge gust of wind swept over the fire, making sparks and smoke engulf each member of the family.  When everything settled down I looked up and saw a midget sitting on the very top of my sister and I’s burn pile.  I rubbed my eyes and looked over to my mom, who looked about as surprised as I felt.  “Hello!” said the little man “this family has been selected by my people, the fiery ferries, to make each of your resolutions come true!” I was over come with joy at this wonderful news… until I realized what my resolution was.  “Are you really going to do that?” I ask the creature “ you must never refuse the gift of the fiery ferries, because if you do terrible things will happen to you” replies the small man sitting on top of the fire.  My father stepped forward and accepted the gift to our family on behalf of each one of us, even me.  As soon as he said that the ferry disappeared and left each of us in shock, me most of all because the moment he left my legs vanished with a pop and a tail reappeared in their place. 

That was the year my mom went to the gym every day, my dad didn’t eat a single piece of junk food, my sister finally saved enough money to see Greece and I became a mermaid. 

Favourite Winter Holiday Memory

Christmas is my favourite time of the year.  Everything is so festive and wonderful, the movies on TV, the lights on houses and the amazing sweaters that are only acceptable to wear around this time, just seem to make all of December magical. People are cheery and loving because of the contagiously good vibes all around the city.  Looking back I really don’t think I have had a bad Christmas (knock on wood), but one holiday season comes to mind when I think about my favourite holiday memory.  I was in third grade and both my sister and I had been bagging my parents for a dog since our old girl Dusty passed away from old age.  That December my dad signed our family up to the golden retriever rescue foundation, so that when a dog came to their program we would be contacted.  I remember my dad sitting my sister and I down and telling us that we would be getting a dog.  It wouldn’t be right away he explained, that dogs only come to the foundation when they needed a better home.  I was a little bummed out that we wouldn’t be getting a little puppy right away, but I understood why we had to wait.  Only two weeks passed before we got a call saying that there was a three-year-old girl who was in need of a new family.  This was the week before Christmas so everything was pretty hectic, but we went to meet our new dog the minute we could.  That was the Christmas my family got Sonny.  She was the best part of that December. To be completely honest I don’t remember anything else about that season because everything else was so irrelevant next to Sonny.  That year was special to me because all the material goods I got under our tree seemed to mean nothing compared to my new best friend.  All these years later and Sonny still made that Christmas holiday unforgettable.  Sadly she’s getting older, almost 13 and completely deaf, her knees don’t work very well and she can’t go for hour long walks like we used to.  Everyone in my family has come to terms with the fact that she wont be here to see another Christmas, but that’s ok because she’s touched each of our lives in so many ways that she’ll never completely be gone.   My mom jokes about how we’ll be finding dog hair on our black clothes for years after she leaves us.  Even though she’s slowly fading I will never forget how special she is to me and how amazing she made that Christmas nine years ago, as well as every day after it.