There was an interview on the radio about Yom Kippur. The holiday happened last month, but it was fascinating to hear one family's traditions around it. They declared it Amnesty Day, and allowed each other a grace period of forgiveness. Sounds like the Get Out of Jail Free card in Monopoly. Considering the tendency of most of us to step on the toes of those we live with, this is a grand idea.

 

Awhile back a friend told me that she did this for her husband. On their anniversary she made the decision to erase all record of mistakes. Give him a clean slate. He was incredulous. And liberated. It turns out she had a habit of keeping score, and the weight of past transgressions hung around his ankles like shackles. 

 

It was the beginning of a brighter chapter in their marriage. Perhaps because he was dashing back and forth between guilt over the past and keeping out of the dog house in the present, he had little juice left for being a partner. 

 

I find that being mad takes a certain amount of energy, as does being the recipient of wrath. Most of us have a finite supply of moxie, and resentment depletes it. The process of aging is already sapping me, so letting go of extraneous ropes makes sense. 

 

In these the last two decades of my time on earth, it seems prudent to shed any encumbrances not permanently attached.