On the first day of every January, I rev myself up for the year ahead by resolving to be happier, healthier, wiser, slimmer, kinder, thriftier, more patient, more caring, more understanding, more selfless, more generous, more charitable, spend more and more time with my family … basically more of everything. And while I’m lying on a beach, the day after the big night before, it’s so much easier to imagine being more while doing so much less. Sometimes, I think it would be more (there’s that word again) realistic to make our “new year” resolutions when the year’s in full swing, say around March or even June, when the day-to-day reality tempers our need to be, well … so much more to everyone!
Even with the best intentions, juggling a toddler, career, family and friends makes it impossible for me to stick with all of the resolutions I’ve listed above. Heck, only a superwoman could deliver 12 months on those. But then I know that’s not what it’s really all about. For me, January 1 marks a time for renewal and revision; a time to take stock of the past year – the good and the bad – and look forward to the next. I’m a firm believer in assessing each year and being happy that I have made the most of what was on offer. My father always tells me that “life’s too short to be something you’re not happy with, and if you can, move on”.
So now that you know what I’m resolving to do in the New Year, I thought it would be fun to find out what some of The Weekly staff and our contributors are resolving to do for 2005. Here, in no particular order: Lyndey Milan, Food Director: “To have singing lessons more regularly.” (Don’t give up your day job! Please. Deb.)
Deborah Hutton, Editor-At-Large: “Improve my golf handicap.”
Kerryn Phelps, Medical Practitioner: “To appreciate life and to value and take note of every single happy moment.”
Jane De Teliga: “To have more fun and more time with friends and family.”
Lee Tulloch, Columnist: “To laugh more, worry less, find a way of exercising that doesn’t involve moving from my desk and, finally, put those family snapshots in an album.”
Jackie French, Gardening Editor: “Lose another 10kg, relax instead of stressing at delay, and clean out last decade’s jams and chutneys from the larder.” (Jackie, we can help with the first one. See page 104 for summer diets.)
Bettina Arndt, Social Commentator: “Make more time to enjoy my children.” (Don’t we all. Deb)
Pat McDermott, Columnist: “To remind myself before I pay the electricity bill what a privilege it is to have children.” (Note to self: Remember to tell Pat that I think she’s one of the most amusing writers in Australia. Deb.)
Caroline Roessler, Managing Editor: “To enjoy each day as if it were my last.”
Jo Wiles, Deputy Editor: “To be nicer, kinder, wiser, thinner, calmer … In short an extreme makeover!” (Jo, you’re as bad as me. Must be Capricorn ambition! Deb.)
There you have it – some worthwhile intentions to inspire your resolutions. And talking about inspiration, this month’s issue is full of extraordinary women, from British PM’s wife, Cherie Blair, who invited us to visit her at 10 Downing Street, for an exclusive interview, leading up to her Australian tour next month; to the reluctant Hollywood movie star Angelina Jolie, who confessed to our writer, William Langley, that she makes movies so she can spend the money and her time helping refugees as goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR.
As a special Australia Day tribute, we’re celebrating our own inspirational indigenous women, including Olympic champion Cathy Freeman, and four others.
Cathy summed up the spirit of the article when she spoke to The Weekly’s Sue Williams: “Australia Day is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to celebrate our multi-culturalism, as well as marking each other’s histories and accepting our uniqueness. As an Aboriginal woman I would like to say congratulations to The Weekly for doing a piece like this. Telling an Australian indigenous story is a wonderful way of celebrating Australia Day. To be in a magazine means a lot to us, things like this make a huge difference. Little girls, wherever they’re from in Australia, will get a huge kick from seeing Australian indigenous women in such a widely read publication. Everybody needs role models.”
From all of us here at The Weekly, may 2005 bring you more happiness, more love, more opportunity, more peace and more of the good things life has to offer.
Deborah Thomas, Editor
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