Here’s to the new year and to fresh starts. I love the new year, and January is my favorite month. I like hellos so much more than goodbyes, sunrises more than sunsets, beginnings more than endings, and first chapters more than concluding chapters*.
Alas, sometimes the freshest of starts are a little slow out of the gates. I did get to bed earlier than usual — but still half an hour later than my goal. I got up exactly when I intended, but took longer getting ready for work and only got out the door half an hour earlier than usual, which was half an hour later than I planned.
(speaking of planners, i did also manage to give mine a look before bed and after i got up — a first step toward what i hope is a slightly more organized existence. if you’re a primary or secondary educator, you’ll know what i mean when i say most of the complications in my daily living are issues related to executive function)
And although I’m sharing this seven hours earlier than last week, it’s a full 25 hours later than my weekly deadline. Yikes.
Still, I am determined to make 2026 better than 2025, and so far it is! May it be thus for us all, whatever our experiences from last year and whatever our hopes for this year.
Welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!
- What is your favorite movie about a fresh start?
- What is your favorite post-apocalyptic movie?
- What is your favorite animal movie?
- What is your favorite me-against-nature movie?
- What is your favorite movie about forgiveness, atonement, or mercy?
Thanks for participating, and have a wonderful, safe, happy new year.
* (although lately I wonder if there’s ever been an opening line as good as this closing line by A. A. Milne: “But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.”)
Happy New Year! I really like your outlook on January. It’s my least-favorite month because of weather and nothing to look forward to, but maybe I could recalibrate myself to enjoy the newness/”beginningness” of it all.
WM is a HS teacher and while I think his executive function is fine, he often tells me that he doesn’t know how I make it through workdays without bells/periods indicating what I should be doing. He thinks my ability to look at a day and a list of must-do-tasks and larger projects and figuring out when to slot in work and why I made those decisions is impressive.
Lengthy comment, but here’s the link: https://kimberussell.com/2026/01/02/friday-5-a-fresh-start/