{"id":76769,"date":"2024-01-01T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=76769"},"modified":"2024-01-01T17:05:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T17:05:42","slug":"veterans-share-their-new-years-resolutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=76769","title":{"rendered":"Veterans share their New Year\u2019s resolutions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Veterans\u2019 New Year resolutions range from losing weight to making memories to thanking VA. Others promise to continue good works, drop a bad habit, or a achieve a personal goal.<\/p>\n<p>Why, though?<\/p>\n<p>The idea of a yearly resolution began in 2000 B.C., when the\u00a0Babylonians\u00a0celebrated the New Year during a 12-day festival starting with the vernal (spring) equinox\u2014the one of two times per year \u201cwhen the Earth\u2019s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in\u00a0a \u201cnearly\u201d equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes,\u201d according to the National Weather Service. <\/p>\n<p>It was that period of rebirth, when hope springs eternal. Today, in the U.S., the idea of resolutions neatly begin on the first day of the calendar year. <\/p>\n<p>So, what\u2019s your resolution for the New Year? Here are some thoughts from Veterans across the country:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cFor 2024, I want it to be a year of healing from a loss, a year of new purpose, a year of new adventures and most importantly a year of making memories.\u201d Lisa Olney, Air Force Veteran, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/detroit-health-care\/\">Detroit VA<\/a> patient<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAdd an additional hive for my bee colony.\u201d Duncan Crossman, Air Force, Bedford VA<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAchieve greater consistency in my business decisions by cultivating self-belief in the face of doubt, trusting my instincts and persisting even when the outcome appears unlikely or unfavorable. Robin Baker, Army, 1984-2005, Atlanta, GA<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMy 2024 New Years Resolution is to continue my path of mental, physical and holistic healing so I may begin to enjoy the fullness of my life and be able to allow new experiences in and embrace those moments.\u201d Robert, Marine Corps, Caribbean VA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Life is too short<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Green-board-GettyImages-171367063_r1-2.jpg\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cBe more present in my family\u2019s life. Life is too short and the more present you can be for your family and friends you will make some great memories. Army Sergeant Major (Retired) Carmen Daugherty, OIF\/OEF, Oklahoma City<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI am going to quit smoking so I can be healthier and happier.\u201d Alfred Moore, Army, Cold War, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/north-texas-health-care\/\">Dallas VA<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\u201cI want to add more volunteering at VA to my calendar in 2024 because there is always more to be done for Veterans.\u201d Richard Aguinaga, US. Army and U.S. Navy, Vietnam and Cold War, Dallas VA<\/li>\n<li>\u201cSpend more quality time with my family, arrange exciting activities, practice active listening, celebrate family milestones and make a conscious effort to be totally present.\u201d Mario Rodriguez Jr., Air Force, Vietnam, Volunteer at Northern California Health Care System<\/li>\n<li>\u201cTo spend more time with my daughter and all my grandkids when I come home.<strong>\u201c<\/strong> Lahoma Hayner, Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Ralph H. Johnson VA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Activity \u2013 Live a hundred years<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cTo practice living an <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ikigai\">IKIGAI<\/a> lifestyle. An old proverb goes: \u2018Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.&#8217;\u201d Jerry Brown, Army 1969-1972, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/maryland-health-care\/locations\/perry-point-va-medical-center\/\">Perry Point VA<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\u201cTo get outside and enjoy more activities like hiking around Texas.\u201d Vyvienne Flores, Global War On Terrorism, Dallas VA<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMy New Years resolution is to lose some weight, meditate daily, and worry less and be present all the time.\u201d Axel, Army, VA employee since 1998, Caribbean VA<\/li>\n<li>\u201cCut-back on sugar with a goal to eliminate completely. I am addicted to gummy bears.\u201d Yvonne M. Somerville, Navy, Andrews Air Force Base<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lost 226 pounds<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cContinue with the plant-based eating until the end of December 2023. I started a 21-day plant based challenge in November 2023 and completed with great results. I have lost 226 pounds since I joined the MOVE program in 2018.\u201d David Pina, Texas Valley Coastal Bend VA<\/li>\n<li>\u201cTo give back to the Veterans and VA. They helped me so much when I needed them. Thanks to everyone.\u201d Curtis May, Air Force 1978-1982, Fairchild AFB <\/li>\n<li>\u201cBe a better me. I want to be better than I can be. Integrity!\u201d Michael Gerberding, Army, Desert Shield\/Storm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Veterans\u2019 New Year resolutions range from losing weight to making memories to thanking VA. Others promise to continue good works, drop a bad habit, or a achieve a personal goal. Why, though? The idea of a yearly resolution began in 2000 B.C., when the\u00a0Babylonians\u00a0celebrated the New Year during a 12-day festival starting with the vernal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":76771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,893],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-new-years-resolutions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76769"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76775,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76769\/revisions\/76775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/76771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}