It doesn’t matter where you were when 2012 rolled into 2013 or how you welcomed the New Year–quietly or with great fanfare—if you are lucky enough to be alive as another year begins, embrace it. It is a gift. I prefer a quiet New Year’s Eve. Even a little solitude. It gives me a chance to reflect on the past year and plan for another. What worked well? What do I wish I had done differently? How shall I approach the New Year to make the most of it? Inevitably, I put pen to paper and record my New Year’s resolutions, thereby breathing life into what might otherwise remain ethereal visions. I have done this every year for as long as I can remember. I also knew that resolutions would be the subject of discussion around the New Year’s Eve dinner table and I wanted to be able to make a public commitment. Nothing goads one into action more than revealing to others what one has resolved, in private, to do (even if there are only four other people around the table). Host Brian Smith at New Year’s Eve Dinner Our quiet dinner party was hosted by our good friend [...]