Gail Ingis | New Year's Resolutions in Reverse

We didn't need to return the champagne. Two sips, done and yum!

I'm going to tell you a little secret: I've never ever made a New Year's Resolution. There! The cat's out of the bag. Why? Every positive change I've made in my life happened because of slow, steady, hard work. Not after three glasses of champagne at 12:01 on Jan. 1st. You might say I do "Reverse Resolutions".

There are a few other things I like to do "in reverse" and that includes shopping! Yup! This time of year is all about "reverse shopping". Every year after the Holidays are over, I put my precious packages under my arm, and trudge to the mall through snow, hail, and threat of 40mph winds, just like the postman used to do. Lately I've seen them driving around in their nifty mail trucks.

It's blooming lovely.

Many years ago, you couldn't return anything without a good excuse. That was before stores like Costco and Walmart came on the scene and began to implement their return policies, then all the chi-chi stores followed suit. And so every January begins the "reverse shopping" trips: the Christmas lights that didn't light. The flickering battery candles that didn't flicker, the blingy jeans screaming bling, too much, even for this sassy Brooklyn blonde. This year Tom returned three bouquets of flowers that had already started to wilt before he even got home! I did manage to salvage a few surviving blooms.

To all of you I say, Happy New Year and remember, you don't need a new year to make a positive change. But you do need your receipt, well, even Costco appreciates the receipt, but it's not required like Walmart, to return all the new stuff that didn't work, broke down, or doesn't fit.

Gail Ingis Claus is an author, artist/painter and interior designer. Her upcoming romance The Unforgettable Miss Baldwin will be released in the spring 2018.. Her current historical romance, Indigo Sky can be purchased on amazon.