Here we are in 2109, and just about everyone has thought about something they might make better this year.

Some call them resolutions, but to those of us who have been around for more than a few new years know how those work out! What’s great about the last day of an old year and the first day of a new one is that it just seems like we all get a fresh start. Big celebrations take place, and people talk about what they look forward to in the coming 12 months.

What I’ve learned over the past many moons is that we get through very few days without beating ourselves up a bit about how we could have done better at something and failed to realize our well-meaning resolutions.

So, some will say resolutions are a waste and that we should all just realize that, in our humanness, we will never measure up to our own expectations, because we set the bar so high.

I haven’t made a New Year’s resolution for years, but there is so much I look forward to, and taking a few small steps toward trying to become a better person is how I try to live each year. I know I’m not perfect — never will be — but doing my best to try and make the lives of those around me a little bit better seems to be a small step in the right direction.

2019 will be a year to remember — just like all the other years past — and with each one, we remember different things for different reasons. Craig and Moffat County have been around a very long time, and I have been a part of this community for a short 21 years. Some people think I’m not too smart; others find me difficult to put up with, while still others think I write a pretty decent column each week and do a pretty good job teaching and coaching kids in our community.

The point is that each new year brings with it the opportunity to make ourselves a little bit better and maybe be a little less judgmental and a lot more forgiving. What our community will go through in 2019 is impossible to foretell with any kind of certainty or accuracy, but if you plan to be here, I hope you will join me in 2109 and do your part to make our community a better place to live.

Happy New Year, neighbor! I hope 2109 brings you all the things you work so hard to achieve and that life treats you as well as you deserve. See you around town, and if I don’t say “hi,” it’s because my eyes are getting older, and I sometimes forget my glasses.

So, step a little closer, and I’m certain we can strike up a conversation — or at least say “hi!”

Lance Scranton is a teacher and coach at Moffat County High School.