The Perfect New Year’s Resolution

By: Allison Gilbert

The clock struck midnight a week ago and just like that we got 365 new days full of promise. I’m a resolution person. I’m grateful for new beginnings. This year, I’ve decided to double down on my efforts to celebrate and honor loved ones intentionally. I’m on a mission. Wanna join me?!

Whether it was last year or decades ago that you lost someone close to your heart, make this the year to do something that is a purposeful act of remembrance. My book, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive, is full of 85 ideas to honor and remember those we never want to forget. 

Here are a five opportunities to consider:

• Post a picture of your loved one on social media. Making loved ones part of your digital life keeps them present IRL.

• Find an old letter with your loved one’s handwriting. Ask a jeweler to engrave a meaningful word or phrase onto a piece of jewelry.

• Frame a love-worn recipe card. Enjoy it as a piece of art in your kitchen.

• Select pieces of your loved one’s most colorful clothing and transform them into decorative throw pillows.

• Invite friends and family to join you in adding favorite photos of your loved one to a Google Doc. Encourage everyone to write a brief story to accompany each image.

Taking time to remember doesn’t require a lot of effort. It just requires making the decision that doing is important. And you don’t have to remember alone. 

Allison Gilbert is co-author of Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America's Most-Read Woman, the first biography of American writer Elsie Robinson. Her previous books include, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive, Parentless Parents: How the Loss of Our Mothers and Fathers Impacts the Way We Raise Our Children, and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents. You can join her the last Thursday of every month for our Passed and Present conversation series, co-hosted by Reimagine, when she talks with preeminent authors and experts about grief, loss, and remembrance.

Learn more about Allison on her website: allisongilbert.com.

Please take a moment to follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. She’s everywhere as “agilbertwriter."