January is a month that looks ahead. A new year means new plans, new resolutions, a new trip around the sun. Mentally, we are more likely to think we are starting over and that the tabula is rasa.

Gone are the days of December, the days of looking back and wondering, ‘Have I been good enough?’ Will Santa think that I have been a good boy or girl or a bad boy or girl? And what is ‘good’ anyway? Will Santa understand if I had a few slip-ups as long as I sincerely apologized?