My 2014 New Year’s Resolution was to make it my Year of Yes. As I age, I have become more risk-averse. Before I do something, I feel the need to determine the likelihood of death or dismemberment; it is not the best way to live, but hey, I’m alive. During 2014, I decided I would say yes to any (legal) activity a friend suggested—and I’d make an effort to reconnect with friends who had dropped out of my life.
Being from St. Louis, it is not hard to believe that I still have friends from high school. (Nerinx Hall class of 1978, for the curious). At our reunion, some of us decided we should recreate our senior year spring break trip, but this time we would have our own beds and we wouldn’t be drinking shots at The Button in Daytona Beach. So 40 years later, we started our adventure in Coral Springs, Fla., with a Boz Skaggs concert. Yes, he is still alive, and yes we were the youngest people at the concert. Five more days together allowed us all to revert back to our behavior in high school, only this time Sister Georgeann did not have to threaten us with expulsion if we missed our curfew.
Next, I visited Vermont to see if you really could go 15 years without talking to old friends and pick up where you left off. I’m happy to report you can. I’m unhappy to report that part of this little adventure involved standing in a river learning to fly fish. Yeah, me in a cold river surrounded by nature. I took one wrong step and ended up becoming ‘one with the river.’ My friends certainly enjoyed my display of grace. Unfortunately this meant three weeks of physical therapy to fix the shoulder I jammed as I smashed into the rocks.
The last time I was an avid concertgoer was during the years of the Mississippi River Festival. But this year, I managed to see Earth, Wind & Fire, Pearl Jam and everyone in between. When Pearl Jam was popular, I was working and having kids. Eddie Vedder meant nothing to me. But my friend and fellow columnist, Raschelle Burton, is a fan. I can’t even describe the concert other than to say I am certain the people in front of us wondered why someone brought their mom to a concert. And no, Eddie did not pick Raschelle or me out of the crowd to sing with him.
And finally, I took a trip to Scottsdale, a city I don’t particularly like but it was going to be the site of a dear friend’s birthday celebration. We went on a tour led by a cowboy with a gun, knife and forceps attached to his belt. He piled us into his Jeep, and we hiked through the desert doing two things I hate: sweating and getting up-close and personal with nature. It was going well until I started talking with my hands. Of course, my hand ended up in a cactus. I now understand why the cowboy carried forceps. (At least we didn’t need to use the gun or knife.)
In between the trips and concerts, my Year of Yes included reviewing resumes for my friends’ children, helping people with business plans, volunteering for charitable organizations, bowling, tracking down old friends and making new ones. So, as 2014 comes to an end, I am happy to say goodbye to my Year of Yes, but not good riddance. I did things this year that caused some physical harm, but I also can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. If you are looking for a New Year’s Resolution try making 2015 your Year of Yes. As for me, 2015 is going to be my year of Let Me Think About It.
