The Right Resolution

Half asleep and half frozen, I stood at the end of the street, stamping my feet and blowing into cupped hands before thrusting them deep into my pockets.

That first get-up after the Christmas break was always going to be awful: tossing and turning half the night, despite my good intentions and going to bed early, dragging myself from a deep, dreamless slumber to switch off the irritating sound of the unwanted alarm clock, and having to dress and eat an unwanted breakfast at this ungodly hour. Urgh!

Susie ran down the street towards me, waving and smiling. I grimaced in return.

            “Happy New Year!” she announced, flinging her arm around my shoulder.

            “Nothing happy about having to get up this early,” I grumbled, “and how I’m supposed to do anything useful after two weeks of chocolate, wine and pyjamas…”

            “Ah well, you’ll probably be sacked by lunchtime, and you can go back home and return to your sloth-like existence.” she shrugged, before adding, “Or you could turn the page. New year-new you? How about we make some new year’s resolutions?”

I sighed. New Year’s Resolutions. Well, it couldn’t do any harm. Something had to change, that much was true. “Any suggestions?” I asked.

“Well… you could drink less, eat healthier, do some exercise, spend time with people rather than lazing around in your PJ’s whenever you’re not at work.”

“Jeez Suz. Say it as it is why don’t you!” I blurted as I turned to face her.

“Just think about it,” she said kindly, “sometimes the truth hurts.”

I knew she was right; this last year had been a disaster, the only consolation being that I had managed to save a tidy sum from the overtime I had worked, as I never went anywhere to spend it. There never seemed any point on my own, with everyone else cosying up with a partner or chattering on about their wonderful families… holidays… kids… new houses… it was endless, and boring, and annoying. I was better off watching Corrie with the cat.

Or was I? Susie’s home truths had certainly struck a chord somewhere deep inside, maybe a new year’s resolution was what I needed.

Work was predictably awful and Susie chattered all the way home, only stopping to hug me when we reached the corner of my street.

I got in and switched on the kettle, displacing the cat on the sofa and settling down with a mug of hot chocolate before reaching for the remote control. The usual drivel was playing: game shows, awful early evening films, bad news on all the news channels, TV shopping offering what I didn’t need. I switched it off again and sat back with my drink. What did I really want? What would make me happy?

I started to scroll on my phone (another of my bad habits) and typed in ‘New Year’s Resolutions’.

The results popped up thick and fast: save money, exercise more, eat healthier, lose weight. Well, I did exercise more than I used to – sort of anyway. I was using the stairs at work instead of the lift and I walked to work, as long as it wasn’t raining – which it usually was. Eat well? No, it hadn’t been a great year – too many takeaways and far too much wine. I sighed and leaned back, and was just about to log off when I noticed the final item on the list.

Younger generations, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, are more inclined to set resolutions related to emotional wellbeing and personal growth, while older generations tend to focus on traditional goals like weight loss and financial stability.

 Below it was an image with a caption that read, ‘If you do what you love you will love what you do’.

What did I love to do? As a child I had been obsessed with history, in fact, I had always wanted to work at the Natural History Museum, taking care of all those amazing artefacts and immersing myself in the past. At primary school I had loved learning about the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Tudors, the Vikings, Aztecs and Maya, and especially the Ancient Egyptians. 

That was it, I would use the money that I had saved to go on an amazing holiday. I would visit the pyramids in Cairo and then cruise down the Nile to see the wonders of the ancient Egyptian world between Luxor and Aswan: on the west bank, the Great Temple of Ramses ll in Abu Simbel;  the unique double temple at Kom Ombo devoted half to Horus and half to the crocodile god Sobek; The Temple of Horus in Edfu; and best of all, the Valley of the Kings with its ancient tombs, where I would finally see the bright paintings of birds, snakes, boats and other symbols in their shades of red, yellow and blue, untouched and unspoiled by the bright sunlight outside. I could almost imagine walking up to the crown of all monuments, the tomb of Tutankhamun, and descending its steps to discover its gilded wooden coffin and sarcophagus in situ.   

On the Nile’s east bank, I would visit Karnak and wander through its forest of intricately carved pillars, obelisks and enclosure walls, connected by the magnificent Avenue of Sphinxes to Luxor Temple, its entrance overlooked by two enormous seated figures of Ramses II. 

There were other places now rushing back from the depths of my memory: Esna, Dendara, Abydos, Beni Hasan – what a thrill it would be to see them all; to be there in the cradle of civilisation.

I switched my search to a travel site and began to plan my trip, feeling more alive than I had done for as long as I could remember.

One year later

Susie was late. I looked at my watch again; if she didn’t arrive in the next few minutes she would be left behind.

            Just as the horn sounded, I saw her, racing towards me, a tangle of curly red hair and a flapping scarf, all dressed in yellow with a small suitcase bouncing behind her. She leapt aboard just as the ropes were slipped and the small cruiser eased away from the dock, dropping her luggage and throwing her arms around my neck.

“God, I’ve missed you!” she choked, through clenched teeth. “How dare you leave me to deal with Derek from accounts for a whole year?”

We both laughed, making our way inside for a cup of the specially prepared Shai, delicately flavoured with peppermint.

            “Well, it’s your own fault,” I replied, “You did encourage me to make a new year’s resolution, and I couldn’t thank you more for it.”

Susie looked at me with a glint in her eye. “You were wasted in the booking office to be fair, but I didn’t expect you to up and leave, abandoning me for Egypt.”

            “Neither did I,” I replied, “but you made me think. Why work in a museum booking visitors in to see the artefacts I love, when I could use my Egyptology degree to actually visit those places every day? Taking that holiday made me realise that if I was going to love my life, I needed to be doing something I love… and this is it. So, drink your tea and get ready for the trip of a lifetime with your very own tour guide.”