Merry Christmas!

I hope y’all are having a great start to the Christmas season.

The year has flown by as New Year’s Eve ever gets closer and closer.

As I wrote this column, I thought about the year we’ve had here in Atmore. The year was a good one.

Before I went home for Christmas, I spent the majority of the day on Wednesday working on the Top 10, both in news and sports.

Both Top 10s are listed in today’s paper. We sifted through each edition and decided what the most important events of the year were in both categories.

While a tedious process, it’s fun to see how much has gone on in a place over a year’s span.

I say this to say that with four days left of 2017, we have the opportunity to think back and figure out what we did wrong and correct those mistakes for 2018.

In a way, it’s like making a New Year’s resolution list, but I encourage all to have one additional item on their lists — kindness.

Be kind.

Instead of getting angry about something, smile and own up to your mistake. When you’ve done that, figure out what needs to be corrected and do it the right way the next time.

It’s a process.

Wait, we’ve heard of that before haven’t we?

I’m assuming most of the readers who are reading this column are Alabama Crimson Tide fans, and have heard head football coach Nick Saban’s dedication to the process.

It’s sort of the same thing, in my brain, at least.

You can also use that in making decisions on something you’ve done wrong, or want to make sure you get it right the next time.

Whatever you decide to write on your New Year’s resolution list, whether it be to work out more or to visit family more often, add kindness in there somewhere.

You’ll be better off because you did.