New Year Superstitions

  1. Do not put out the new calendar before New Year’s Day
  2. Open the door at midnight New Year’s Eve so the old year can go out
  3. Get rid of any old regrets or revenge or debts
  4. Wear something red on New Year’s Day for good luck and happiness
  5. Give some of your good clothing to the poor
  6. Forgive everyone for everything
Picture of Maxine Dexter

Maxine Dexter

Mom (Maxine Dexter) got most of the “New Year’s Superstitions” from her daily devotional and added a few of her own. She is 92 years old, a mother to five, and grandmother/great grandmother to many. She has lived in Aiken since 1953. She worked as a nurse in the operating room at the old Aiken County Hospital. After her retirement from nursing, she and her beloved husband, Art Dexter, devoted their time to a large vegetable garden and to helping others. In Mom’s spare hours, she worked with the adult literacy program, ACTS, hospice, advocating for peace, and numerous other causes. A lifelong gardener, she still spends every morning in the yard, weather permitting, working in her flower gardens. This is her secret to a happy heart.
Picture of Maxine Dexter

Maxine Dexter

Mom (Maxine Dexter) got most of the “New Year’s Superstitions” from her daily devotional and added a few of her own. She is 92 years old, a mother to five, and grandmother/great grandmother to many. She has lived in Aiken since 1953. She worked as a nurse in the operating room at the old Aiken County Hospital. After her retirement from nursing, she and her beloved husband, Art Dexter, devoted their time to a large vegetable garden and to helping others. In Mom’s spare hours, she worked with the adult literacy program, ACTS, hospice, advocating for peace, and numerous other causes. A lifelong gardener, she still spends every morning in the yard, weather permitting, working in her flower gardens. This is her secret to a happy heart.

In the know

Related Stories

A Case for Self-Love | Palmetto Bella

A Case for Self-Love

Loving yourself unapologetically is the greatest thing you can do for another. Reread that sentence slowly. If everyone acted in soul-aligned, self-loving ways, what beauty could we create together? What happiness and harmony would ring throughout the world? Life would be magical for all. Instead, many of us seek acknowledgment or external love by bending into a pretzel of pain and misery. Let’s debunk the myth that self-love is selfish. If supplemental oxygen is deemed necessary on a plane, step one is putting on your own oxygen mask. It’s important to make sure you’re receiving oxygen before you help others — if you’re breathing, you can help provide breath for

Read More »
Be in Love with Life | Palmetto Bella

Be in Love with Life

The “Amore” Issue! I love Love. I drive my daughters crazy with this notion. But it is true. “The Rose” was the very first song I can recall memorizing. I learned it at a church camp in Colorado Springs the summer after completing 7th grade. At the base of the beautiful Rocky Mountains we spent hours singing this song, rehearsing for the performance we would give our families at the end of the camp. Ever since, I have been singing this song to myself when I cannot go to sleep — it has always proven more effective than counting sheep or singing “99 bottles of beer on the wall.” Over

Read More »
Five Ways to Live the Paris Lifestyle Anywhere | Palmetto Bella

Five Ways to Live the Paris Lifestyle Anywhere

Ma Vie En Rose by Buck Jones She doesn’t come into our little café but once a week, but when she does, oh my. It’s her smile that grabs your heart, and as she walks over to give you the obligatory bisous greeting of a kiss on each cheek, the conversation is quick and easy. Long retired from being a professor at one of the local universities on the Left Bank of Paris, she and her boyfriend (a retired diplomat) sit at their favorite table and they order a coupe of champagne each. That’s what they always order, and for the next hour or so, they canoodle. She leans into

Read More »
Happy ‘Taughts’ for New Beginnings | Palmetto Bella

Happy ‘Taughts’ for New Beginnings

Excerpt from Rhinestones on My Flip-Flops My daughter, Caroline, loved watching Peter Pan when she was a little girl. She was glued to the television and loved every minute of the animated movie. After watching the movie, she pretended to fly around the house just like Peter Pan. On one occasion, I was upset over something, and my sweet Caroline, always a tender child, was very sensitive to my feelings. Her sweet face turned toward mine and her big brown eyes looked at me. She said, “Momma, tink happy taughts. Momma! Tink happy taughts!” she repeated. Then she said something I will never forget: “Momma if you tink happy taughts,

Read More »