One down, fifty one to go. Now that we’re already a week into 2010, how many New Year’s resolutions have you broken? Oh my, that many? Well, if it makes you feel any better, you’re not alone.

As for me, however, I am happy to say that as of today I have not broken a single resolution. Of course, it helps considerably that I didn’t make any this year. Nope. For the first time in a long while, I didn’t make a single resolution. I was blind-sided so many times in 2009 by unforeseen and unpreventable circumstances, I’m flat out gun shy when it comes to thinking I have any control whatsoever over what will happen this afternoon – much less in the coming year.

That old axiom that says, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans” fits me perfectly. So too does the truism that says, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” So, no resolutions for me this year. Having said that, however, I do begin the new year with great, if completely unwarranted, optimism and enthusiasm.

If you’ve read many of these columns, you’ll know I’m not a “glass half full” kind of guy by any stretch of the imagination. But I somehow sense that the next twelve months will be ones of significant positive change, new opportunities and opened doors. (Whoa, am I having an Oprah moment here or what?)

Maybe some of my hopefulness for the new year has to do with the great news that my wife and I received a few months ago. God willing, our daughter and her husband will welcome their first child into the world in late June or early July. That alone will make 2010 a wonderful year no matter what else does or doesn’t happen. Although this will be our fourth grandchild (and yes, I am RIDICULOUSLY YOUNG to be a grandpa), it will be the first to live within driving distance. Our first three grandkids live thousands of miles across the ocean which, with current economic conditions and the rising cost of airfare, may as well be on the moon. So I predict some serious spoiling and babysitting taking place during the later half of this year.

We’re also looking forward to our fourth and final high school graduation when our youngest receives his diploma from Crescenta Valley High in June. He’s already been accepted to Point Loma Nazarene University in the fall so that’s another exciting milestone we have to look forward to. Now all we have to do is convince Congress to enact our own private stimulus package and we may even be able to afford the tuition.

I’m also excited about next month’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC. Although I’m not like most guys and don’t care much about any particular football, baseball or basketball team, I do follow the quadrennial summer and winter games with great passion. I can’t think of a single Kings or Ducks game I’ve ever watched on TV, but I’ll sit through round after round watching the ice hockey teams from Sweden and the Czech Republic puck around on the ice. And don’t get me started talking about the luge or bobsled competition. Call me crazy, but when it’s broadcast in high definition and 5.1 channel surround sound, even a goofy “sport” like curling (ah, the thrill of whisk brooms on ice!) keeps me glued to the flat screen for hours on end. Go team USA!

That’s just a few of the things I’m excited about in the upcoming months. If you made resolutions, I wish you good luck and limitless willpower in keeping as many of them for as long as possible. For the rest of us less ambitious types, may the new year bring new appreciation and enjoyment of faith, family, friends and this wonderful little corner of heaven we all call home.

I’ll see you ‘round town.

Jim Chase is a lifelong CV resident and freelance writer. He can be reached at jim@wordchaser.com.

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