Yes, Wednesday was my birthday. And since I didn’t make any wholehearted New Year’s resolutions this year, I thought one and a half months later was better than never. They are as follows:

1) Curb my negativity. I have a nasty habit of speaking my mind. My belief that honesty is always the best policy has apparently broken the filter that normally resides between one’s brain and one’s mouth. I want to stop saying negative things about people and lighten up my sense of humor and Jan has agreed to help me. After watching episode 27 of Seinfeld (The Stranded) where Jerry says to Elaine at a party, “In case one of us gets in a bad conversation, we should have a signal that you’re in trouble so the other one can get us out of it.” and they decide on head patting, Jan has agreed to help me realize when I am being unnecessarily cruel by the implementation of a discreet signal. The signal we have chosen is that of an eagle’s cry. If I am being unkind and I hear the unmistakable screech of an eagle, I know that I have gone too far and will try to inject some optimism.

2) Stop grinding my teeth.