New Year's Resolution

New Year Resolution

He listened to their reasons, the jargon they used and their idiotic phrases while trying to justify the failures he knew would soon fall upon their dull, annoying lives. They deserved what they get from their brainless actions.

You don't come up with reasons, you either do it or you don't. It's that simple. Why complicate the issue by putting rules and guidelines around them. Just get up in the morning and decide who you want to be today and do it. All it takes to reach any goal is a strong desire to win.

He didn't move, just sat there and listened to the conversation between the three of them. When he couldn't take the absurdity any longer, "I think you all have it wrong." Then he leaned back in his comfortable office chair, put his feet on the desk, and waited while smiling for the storm to arrive.

They stopped their constant chatter as if the band leader lowered his baton for silence. Each gazed at the other hoping for an explanation that might somehow fit with his rude and untimely interruption of their group. Etiquette wouldn't allow them to interfere with others in this manner, so why is it now happening to them? When their questioning looks didn't satisfy their query they turned in unison, towards the source of this confrontation. His smiling face beckoned their attention.

When her eyes rested on Bob, she knew the conflicts that would spew from his smiling deceptive mouth. His face bore the look of innocence coupled with the body of a Greek God. That is where all familiarity crashed into the void of his false logic. Their swords of speech and wisdom have crossed paths several times in the past. "Okay Bob, what is it this time?" She raised her hands to the group, cautioning them to silence, and sat down, crossed her arms and waited for the dribble to flow across the room. It didn't take long.

He sat there accessing the coming skirmish for several seconds before replying. But first, taking his feet off the desk, he leaned forward with his elbows resting on the back of the vacant chair next to him. Clearing his throat, he pointed his finger at Joanne. "I've watched you over the last five-years blurting out the same dribble when the year comes to a close. All I ever absorb from your lack of reasoning power is that you like to set yourselves up for failure, and in front of all your friends." Pulling his hands back he pushed the chair towards them as if hoping for some kind of effect, and he put his feet back on the desk.

She bit her lip while cocking her head to the side, hoping the delay might help her plan an effective counter to his charges. It didn't work, and she knew he was right. However, right or wrong, it didn't matter to her line of thinking–it was hers, and she will voice her opinion. Before she answered, she thought about the last five-year's of resolutions. Wow, she thought, they are all about loosing weight. And yes, they all lose weight in the first few months of the new year, then as time moves on their determination somehow moves to the wayside. It might be life kicks in, or vacations, it doesn't matter–stuff happens.

Bob cleared his throat, sending a shock wave to the group of women while he waited for them to reply to his untimely accusations.

"Oh sorry, Bob," Joanne mumbled while looking at her friends for support. None came. "You may be right in your original premise, I will concede to that point." She fumbled with the pencil she had in her hand and tossing it to the desk continued, "The point is not that we make a New Year's resolution, it's that we make one, period."

Now Bob had debated with Joanne several times over the years, and he enjoyed every one of them, but he knew a delay and deflect tactic when he heard one. He used them himself. "All you are doing is making a double statement. Why don't you justify what you aren't saying, so I can at least understand your lack of reasoning?"

The other two women remained silent throughout all this, but that doesn't mean they weren't thinking. They didn't enjoy talking to Bob because he was always right and didn't mind letting them know that very fact. Sally sat clicking her nails and brushing the hair from her eyes and without realizing blurted, "I've never seen you sit down and talk to your coworkers about resolutions, or anything else. You sit in your cubical by yourself and only stick your head out to cause trouble or stir the pot. I feel sorry for you, as you appear so lonely."

"Wow, that is a mouthful coming out of your bleached blonde head." He wasn't sure what to make of her remarks as she may have said ten words to him in the last four-years. He put his feet on the floor, took a deep breath before replying. "Where do you come up with that drivel, anyway?"

Joanne liked the way the conversation had deflected away from her.

"I don't know," Sally continued. "I see you sitting there all day not talking to anyone and doing your work. You eat by yourself and go home saying nothing. You get up and leave."

"Well," he stammered without thinking before the words came falling from his mouth, "I don't have a lot to say after my wife died. My entire world crashed in on me and not one person mentioned they were sorry for my loss. I went from a full house to and empty house, overnight."

The whole office quieted down. You could hear the main server computer winning from across the room. They looked to the floor hoping to find the words they needed lying waiting for them to reach down, grab them and toss them to Bob. But the floor remained empty of advice or solace.

After an uncomfortable silence Pam chimed in, "Wow, we didn't know. I guess we all thought you were a self-absorbed asshole." She stood up and walked to the vacant chair next to him. "I am so sorry for your loss and there is nothing any of us can do to make the pain go away." She lightly touched his knee then withdrew her hand. "All I know is talking to people, making friends, and hanging out together can help when the bottom seems to reach up while it tries to drag you to its bosom."

All three women had now gathered around him as he wiped a tear from his eye. It had been a long time coming, but he realized his error by holding onto those painful emotions. 

"Bob," Joanne continued, "we don't always make the resolutions during the new year knowing we will succeed or fail. We do it because it gives us something to tie us together for several months while sharing our accomplishments, or our failures. It brings us together and holds us together. People need that to exist and thrive. We all need something and someone, don't pull back and ignore everyone around you. We can all help each other."

Bob's blonde hair comment hurt Sally but after thinking about it for several minutes she couldn't hold it in any longer. "You are right about the blonde hair. I did that because I wanted to hide from what I had identified myself to be as a brunette. I didn't like that person. However, that person doesn't matter now and my hair color isn't an issue either. Your comment helped me to see that." She thought it weird how such a simple comment could open her eyes on a subject that had troubled her for years. It's like he opened a door for her. "Thank you, Bob. You may not realize it but you helped me more than you will ever know." She wiped several tears from her cheeks.

Bob was quiet for several minutes while the women continued consoling and talking to him. Leaning back, he straightened to his full height while still in the chair and looked at each one of his new friends. "I'll bet I could lose a few pounds this year. Does anyone want to join me in a New Year's Resolution?"