It’s a good thing to have endings to things. I’ve been in meetings which seemed like they’d never end. Church meetings, business meetings, civic meetings, etc. — all can sometimes feel that way. Speaking of church meetings, I’ve heard prayers that the timing seemed to be designed for an ending “amen” to coincide with the arrival of the second coming of the Lord.

There are lots of things that seem like they’ll never end. A few that come to mind are debt, some workdays, dental appointments and newspaper columns.

On the other hand, there are things in life that are enjoyable to begin. For instance, for me, it’s fun to start vacations, steak dinners and reading a new book. Beginnings always have feelings of promise and high expectations attached to them.

A year has an ending, followed immediately by a beginning. And here we are, right now, wrapping up 2025 and stepping into the untouched territory of 2026.

Some people were scared of 2012 some years back. They thought that something big and bad would happen. That’s because Dec. 21, 2012, was apparently when the Mayan calendar was supposed to end. I wasn’t afraid. I think the Mayans just didn’t use a big enough rock to make the calendar go longer.

People were freaked out 25 years ago when we were on the brink of a new century. The world was going to stop. Computers were going to go ka-blooey. The financial world was going to collapse. And some religious “experts” thought that “judgment day” was arriving. Some people believed all that, and more, would happen. And, here we are — 25 years later.

I have a personal policy on doomsday dates. I don’t believe them. I’m more worried about my own personal doomsday when I try to cross a street on foot or slather butter on a giant, heated cinnamon roll.

(Butter is also good on a toasted, celebratory cherry Pop-Tart. That’s what I had last Saturday night, after a BYU football Pop-Tarts Bowl win over Georgia Tech. Yes — butter — try it, you’ll like it.)

A year on Earth is a long, yet reasonable, period of time. A year, of course, is the time that it takes our planet to orbit the sun. Under normal, healthy circumstances, most of us will live to see the times and seasons of many years on earth.

A year on Earth’s neighbor Mars is nearly twice as long as an Earth year. A child on Mars would go nuts waiting for Christmas or for a birthday to turn another year older.

But consider if we were living under Neptune years. A year there equals about 165 Earth years. On Neptune, we’d feel lucky to live long enough to reach a little more than one-half of a year in age.

So, it’s good to live with our year on our orbit schedule here on the good ol’ “third rock from the sun.” It’s nice to be able to shut the book on an old year. It’s also a good feeling to be able to start out each Jan. 1 with the fresh feeling of “I’m gonna do better this year.”

I’ve already got a list (OK, it’s a mental list right now) of things that I’m going to improve on in 2026. Thank goodness I get a fresh start each year on my diet, exercise, reading and journal keeping goals. Those things are pretty much measurable and I’ll be able to see if I make some improvements.

There are some things that I’d like to resolve to do better in 2026 than I did in 2025, which aren’t so easily measured. I have a resolution of hoping to become a “nicer person.” (I know what you’re thinking. “Is it possible for Merrill to become a nicer person?” Aww, shucks — thanks. haha)

Just becoming a “nicer person” is not a very well defined New Year’s resolution. So, I have some particular strategies in mind for this goal. I’m reluctant to share them here. I’m not ready for the pressure of all of Sanpete checking up on me.

Well, OK. If you can keep a secret, I’ll share one of my planned methods that I’m going to try in regards to the goal of becoming a “nicer person.” Here it is. I’m going to try to be more generous with genuine compliments.

Being complimentary of others really shouldn’t be that difficult. It’s just a matter of noticing good attributes of others and mentioning them out loud. It doesn’t cost anything and it makes others feel good. But for some reason, it’s easy to neglect easy things.

I believe that it’s very important that a compliment be genuine and not just some ooey gooey, fake, “apple shining” comment. Most people receiving a compliment know the difference between “real” and “fake.”

OK, now you know my secret resolution for 2026. I now wish each of you wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, fantastic, sweet, gifted, magnificent readers a “Happy Prosperous New Year!” (How am I doing so far?) — Merrill