I’d say it was time for my last rant of the decade, but that would make me more upset. Let’s call it my last rant of the year.

What has been annoying me the past couple of weeks is the not usual end-of-year news reflections that seem to be dominating the media, but that the coverage has extended to end-of-decade.

There was no year zero. The Common Era, which we used to refer to as A.D. (Anno Domini, or in English the Year of the Lord) began in year one. That is where we start counting.

That means decades (a ten year period) end in the years with a zero. That’s despite what you may have seen over the past couple of weeks. The next decade starts on January 1, 2021. Sometimes popular opinion is wrong, which somehow doesn’t stop it from being popular.

Okay, enough negativity for 2019 – I do try and keep things positive in this space. At least this pet peeve is a minor one – not like some of my political concerns.

It is the last day of 2019, and for a lot of people it is a time for reflection on the past year. Mind you, given that usually happens in the context of a party, that introspection may not be very long or very deep.

Still, there are some questions you could ask yourself as you look back. It doesn’t have to be today – you can ask these anytime. Here are a few of my suggestions:

Am I a better person today than I was a year ago? Is my relationship with God better than it was? Have I done more good than harm in 2019? Have I shown love to others? Have I made family a priority? Have I acted with integrity in my business/work dealings with others?

You might have questions of your own you want to ask. What yardsticks do you want to use for self-evaluation? How often do you want to take time to reflect? It probably should be more often than annually, just in case you have things you want/need to change or improve on.

That may mean making some New Year’s resolutions. I’m not necessarily a fan of those in most cases – too often such promises seem made to be broken. But there are times when change is necessary – we all know that.

As 2019 ends and 2020 begins, isn’t it time for some introspection?