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W ith the New Year comes resolutions, you could say it is a sort of tradition. The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year's resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year. They made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. These promises could be considered the forerunners of our New Year's resolutions. A similar practice occurred in ancient Rome, after the reform-minded emperor Julius Caesar tinkered with the calendar and established January 1 as the beginning of the new year circa 46 B.C. Named for Janus, the two-faced god, January had special significance for the Romans. Believing that Janus symbolically looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future, the Romans offered offerings to the deity and made promises of good conduct for the coming year. Today, resolving to change and improve yourself and your life is an almost unavoidable part of the transition to a new year. Though it's a pretty well documented fact that most New Year's resolutions fail, we keep making them—and we're not alone. The custom of making New Year's resolutions is most common in the West, but it happens all over the world. You might find this resolution tradition both inspiring and depressing. Depressing in the fact that most folks don't see resolutions through, but inspiring in that we as humans have the resolve to try again; tomorrow, next week, next year. We get up each day and look forward while remembering the past. We learn, grow and move on. To me that is the great gift of life. That is why they call it the present. Wishing you a wonderful 2018! Laura & Van Laura Brodniak / Van Cooper Windermere Real Estate