Author's Notes: This little Season One meander through New Year's Eve at 4247 Maplewood Drive was inspired by a challenge to write a New Year's story, with bonus points for involving a couple who wouldn't be expected to spend it together. It contains references to The Long Christmas Eve, which had taken place just a week earlier. Alas, Lee is still in the hospital and will not be making an appearance. I'm sure every female doctor or nurse on duty planned to give our handsome hero a kiss at midnight, but that is not my story to tell.
My earlier first season "A Night at the Museum" is lightly referenced, but familiarity with that tale is neither expected nor required to understand this story.
As always, Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon own the characters, but any mistakes are exclusively mine.

Resolutions

1

"Grandma, what's a re-solution?"

Dotty West looked up from her magazine. Her grandsons were at the kitchen table doing their homework, fortified by a plate of cookies and steaming mugs of hot chocolate, sadly without marshmallows. Dotty hadn't yet discovered her daughter's new hiding place for them. She had to admit that hiding them in the box of instant mashed potato flakes was genius and finding them had been purely accidental.

It was unusual for 8-year-old Jamie to be stumped by homework, but after checking both his student dictionary and the Webster's on the reference shelf, he looked more confused than ever. None of the definitions seemed to make sense for what his teacher asked them to write about. Was he supposed to solve something?

"It's pronounced 'reso-LEW-shun', Wormbrain! It's stuff you wanna do next year." 10-year-old Phillip's class had the same homework assignment over the Christmas break. Every schoolkid in the country was probably tasked this week with thinking about things they wanted to accomplish in the coming year. "It's stuff like making the soccer team when I start middle school, or getting on the high score board for Pac Man at the arcade." he added more kindly. "Old ladies write stuff like 'lose 10 pounds' ."

He noticed his grandmother preparing to say something. "But not you, Grandma! You're not fat!" He was quick to correct himself. "You and Mommy probably want to beat your record time for putting groceries away."

Oh, the innocence of youth! Although she did think she could stand to drop 5 pounds or so, especially after a week of sampling Christmas cookies as they cooled on the rack, and now of course enjoying all the goodies from the neighborhood's yearly exchange.

"Well dear, we always try to beat our record, so that wouldn't be a proper New Year's resolution. But you have the right idea."

Phillip stuck his tongue out at Jamie. It wasn't often that he was better at homework than his dorky, teacher's pet younger brother.

Dotty considered suggesting that the boys resolve to stop calling each other names, but she and her sister Lillian were much the same at that age. Or, she had to admit, at any age. The boys had always been close, but over the past year they'd been developing separate interests. Phillip especially was becoming more involved with his classmates than with his brother. It's too bad I can't resolve to keep them young and innocent a while longer. They're growing up so fast.

As if reading his grandmother's mind, Phillip helpfully suggested tackling the assignment by making a list, then saying why he wanted to do those things.

Jamie was still drawing a blank. He was pretty happy with his life just the way it was and saw no reason to want to change things. He knew some of his friends were writing stuff like "get better grades" or "read more books", but he already did those things. When he'd talked to his friend Tim Davenport on the phone earlier, he'd heard his mother yell that he should write "spend less time on the phone", but that hadn't really helped him understand the assignment. Couldn't I just make a reso-LEW-shun to NOT change things?

"What about you, Grandma? What's your resolution?" Phillip found himself more interested in the subject this year than in years past. He couldn't have put it into words, but he was starting to think further into the future. It was hard to talk to Jamie about these kinds of things because he was still firmly rooted in the present. He felt like he was growing up while Jamie was staying a baby.

"Don't tell your mother, because I want it to be a surprise, but I want to get my drivers license and my own car. Since she works unpredictable hours sometimes, it would be nice to not have to wait for her to get home, or to rely on friends for a ride." She would worry about me in weather like this, though. I do hope she gets home soon; the snow is really coming down. I'm glad we're just staying home to watch the ball drop at midnight.

Phillip had a thought. "Do you think Mom's resolution is to marry Dean?"

Dotty would never dream of discussing it -especially with the boys- but in her secret heart, she had already resolved to help Amanda plan a lovely wedding. Not that her first wedding wasn't lovely, but she and Joe were young, and the event had been more of a party than an appropriately formal ceremony and reception. That was Joe's influence. He was popular and impulsive, unlike Dean. Dean was reliable, considerate, grounded, and had an important job. He was a good influence on her daughter. Amanda could be so unpredictable sometimes, especially since she started working for the film company.

She was saved from answering the question by Amanda's arrival. The boys got up from the table to greet her at the door with a hug...and to check out what kind of snacks she'd brought home for their New Year's Eve party. After a week of sweets, they were ready for chips and dip, and popcorn, and cheese and crackers, and-

"Liverwurst? Yuck! Who eats liverwurst?" Jamie was the first to notice the loaf with its distinctive yellow casing. There was also some kind of mustard he didn't recognize, and a loaf of dark bread with a weird name like Pumpkin Nickel, and something that smelled like stinky gym socks.

"Eeew!" Phillip added his disapproval. They may have started disagreeing on some things, but where food was concerned, Amanda's boys had always had very similar preferences.

"Well fellas, it's my boss's favorite sandwich, but his wife always "forgets" to buy him liverwurst and Limburger. He volunteered to work tomorrow, so I thought I would take him the fixings."

Mr. Melrose had let that information slip yesterday as he joylessly unwrapped his 3rd leftover turkey sandwich since Christmas.

"Darling, what could possibly be so urgent at a documentary film company that the boss ,of all people, would have to work on a holiday?" Dotty fancied herself a bit of a detective, and there were some things about Amanda's part-time job that just weren't adding up.

Amanda thought fast. "He's probably making sure all the year-end expense reports and project proposals are finished. You know the government; wants everything in order, i's dotted, t's crossed. I think it's something to do with our funding for next year."

She was getting alarmingly good at half-truths where her job was concerned. Mr. Melrose was indeed always looking over reports, but nothing so innocent as funding proposals. This week's reports dealt largely with debriefing and relocating an agent code-named Janus after a standoff with Russian agents at a little cabin in the woods on Christmas Eve.

Missing Christmas Eve with her family made her even more determined to make sure New Year's Eve was special, so she'd picked up some sparkling grape juice and noisemakers in case the boys made it to midnight. They were determined to do it this year.

"How are those resolutions coming along, fellas?" They'd had all week to think about the assignment, so Amanda was surprised to see that Jamie's paper was blank, other than his name. Last year he'd had almost two pages of resolutions. Granted, they were things like remembering to put books back on the shelf and finishing his homework; things he mostly already consistently did. She'd had the feeling that he'd just listed things his friends were listing.

She was pleased -and a little surprised- to see that Phillip was starting a third page. She knew her older son was smart, but he'd never enjoyed writing assignments. He was more the hands-on type. His second entry caught her attention. "Sweetie, do you think getting a high score in Pac Man is a good resolution? Or do you just want to spend more time at the arcade with your friends?"

He hadn't thought about it like that. In fact, lately he liked the arcade better when he was just there with Jamie. That way, he could concentrate on the game while his brother watched. They had an unspoken agreement that Jamie wouldn't bother him while he was playing. In return, Phillip would try to win a prize for him from the claw machine. He was really good at it too.

"It takes a lot of work. You hafta pay attention to a lot of stuff at the same time. And it's good for hand-eye coordination." He'd learned about that in gym class when they were playing basketball. You couldn't just throw the ball and hope it went in the net. You had to look and line up your shot. It sounded like what you had to when you pitched a baseball too. Or maybe in any sport. It made sense to him and made him happy in a way he didn't yet have the words to explain.

"Well, I can't argue with that" she conceded, wondering when her little boy started seeing the video game as more than just a fun way to spend half an hour while she and her mother shopped for other things at the mall.

"Mommy, what if I don't want to make reso-LEW-shuns? Do I have to?" Amanda was surprised by the question. Jamie was a rule follower, and she recognized the courage it must have taken him to ask.

The phone rang, saving her from having to answer right away. She herself had always enjoyed ending one year with resolutions for the next. His question sounded like something Lee Stetson -her friend? partner?- at work would ask. Maybe that's him calling now. He was supposed to be discharged from the hospital today. She picked up the phone hopefully. "Hello!"

"Hello Sweetheart. Early Happy New Year!"

"Joe?" Her ex-husband was one of the last people she'd expected to hear from. The last she knew, he was off in some small African country doing his part to save the world. "Fellas, it's your father. Would you like to wish him a happy new year?"

"Actually, they can do it in person if that's okay. I'm in town. It was just supposed to be a short layover on the way to Panama but my flight was canceled and the next available flight isn't until tomorrow evening. That's if this snow lets up. The airline put everyone up in a hotel, but I'd love to swing by and watch the ball drop with the boys."

Amanda considered for a moment. Her mother had already invited Dean for dinner, but the boys had really missed their father this holiday season. Plus, she still had the tracksuit she'd bought him for Christmas since he'd just left her an emergency contact phone number with no address when he'd had to relocate in September. The boys hadn't even been able to send him a Christmas like they'd done for the past few years.

Amanda thought she could make it work. Dean started work at 4 most mornings so she didn't expect him to stay very late, especially if the snow got worse. She'd have to tease him because he'd predicted the band would shift to the north. Everybody thinks they can make better predictions than meteorologists, but Dean had actually won awards for how often he was right. He'd probably want to go in extra early to do ...whatever it is that meteorologists do to figure out what Mother Nature has in mind. He'd be gone by 7, maybe 8 at the latest. If Joe stopped by later, they probably wouldn't meet.

"You could come over around 9. And bring snacks."

Joe knew Amanda had a boyfriend, and Dean knew she was on good terms with her ex. She wasn't sure why the thought of them meeting was something she wasn't ready for. She'd been seeing Dean for almost a year, and she and Joe had been separated for two years prior to their divorce almost two years ago.

"Sounds good. I'll bring pizza. Just like old times!" That was how they'd always celebrated the new year before Phillip came along. She hoped he didn't have any intention of trying to recreate the celebrations that used to take place after midnight. She also found herself hoping Dean wouldn't have taken a nap so he could stay up late and kiss her at midnight. She was aware lately that he wasn't the one she wanted to be kissing.

She gazed out the kitchen window at the falling snow, realizing she was half hoping Lee would miraculously appear. She focused her attention back inside, knowing it was unlikely. He'd be anxious to get home once he got out of the hospital. He hated hospitals. Maybe she'd get a chance to call him later.

Pencil that in for 8:30, Amanda! She smiled to herself. Mr. Melrose's smooth baritone was becoming a frequent voice in her head. She was looking forward to surprising him with his sandwich fixings tomorrow.

"Was that Joe, dear?" Her mother pretended she hadn't been eavesdropping. Amanda pretended to believe her.

The boys were looking at her expectantly. Had they heard her right? Would they get to see their dad tonight?!

Will Dean be jealous? Or mad? Will Dad? Phillip wondered. They'd never seen Dean jealous, or mad, or even happy, or...anything. He was weird. Okay-weird, but still weird. This could be interesting!

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Dinner had been pleasant enough, even though the boys didn't understand why they had ham, rice, and black-eyed peas every New Years Eve. At least Dad's bringing pizza later Jamie thought.

Dotty beat Amanda to teasing Dean about the storm trajectory, playfully suggesting that Mother Nature was trying to get him snowed in with them, Dean had a sense of humor about a few things, but the weather was not one of them. He took his forecasting very seriously and was deeply chagrined by his inaccurate forecast, although he was only off by a few miles. He tried explaining how he managed to get it wrong, but Phillip was the only one who sort of understood bits and pieces. Phillip hadn't meant to encourage him, but this was the most interesting thing Dean had ever talked about.

Jamie had been bored enough to get his homework out again while Dotty and Amanda puttered around in the kitchen, slicing the cheeses and pepperoni for later. He very much hoped his mother's reso-LEW-shuns did NOT involve marrying Dean. He was only interested in weather or occasionally watching documentaries about fishing. He really hoped he wouldn't try to take him and Phillip fishing again in the spring. He'd taken Amanda fishing once and caught a big fish, but that was probably just luck. When he'd taken them, he hadn't caught anything except his own hat when he was trying to show them how to cast their lines. That was the only part of the day that wasn't boring. I wonder if I could make a reso-LEW-shun to find hobbies that Dean and I both like? It was the best idea he'd had, so he started writing.

Suddenly it was close to 9. The doorbell rang. Phillip, suddenly losing interest in the finer points of pressure differentials, ran to answer it. Amanda made it to the door just in time to rescue the pizzas as the boys cannonballed into their father for hugs.

"Hey there, fellas! Hi Sweetheart." Amanda managed to get the door closed before the boys' exuberance could push their father back out into the snow. It was coming down so hard now that she could barely see Joe's rental car in the driveway behind Dean's Blazer. Oh no! This is what I wanted to avoid!

Dean hadn't known Joe had invited himself to stop by, but he knew how to take a hint. He'd just get through the awkward introduction and head home. With an exaggerated yawn and conspicuous checking of his watch, he rose to say his goodbyes.

"Guess I'll be heading home now. Dinner was great. Thanks for inviting me." Might as well get this over with. He extended his hand. "You must be Joe. I'm Dean. Dean McGuire."

Joe shook his hand firmly, relieved that this McGuire guy met it firmly but didn't try to break his fingers. In his experience, the hand-crushers were almost always bad news. Amanda hadn't mentioned that she'd invited her boyfriend. It would've been nice to know ahead of time, but judging by McGuire's obvious discomfort, he somehow knew that Amanda hadn't informed either of them that the other would be there. Typical Amanda. Just like when she'd made separate plans with two of her sorority sisters who were fighting and the plans ended up overlapping. Not that I have anything against this guy...yet, anyway.

"I hope you don't live too far. They issued a driving ban just after I picked up the pizzas."

Dean suddenly looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He lived in Annandale, and the snow band was parked over both cities.

"Well then obviously we're all snowed in!" Dotty had never been shy about addressing the elephant in the room, although she was usually more circumspect. Perhaps this will encourage Dean to hurry up and propose. I know Amanda says she isn't ready, but I think she's just afraid of being hurt again. I can read Joe King like a book, and it looks like he's accepted Dean. Maybe them being snowed in together here is fate telling us we're one big, extended family.

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The evening passed surprisingly pleasantly after the awkwardness wore off. They played board games, filled their bellies with snacks, and rang in the new year with sparkling grape juice. Dotty was delighted that Dean and Joe seemed to be becoming fast friends, but sensed that Amanda was more relieved than happy.

For their part, the boys were surprised to find that Dean could be kind of fun, and was very good at Trivial Pursuit, just like their father. They'd played in 3-person teams, with Joe, Jamie, and Dotty barely defeating Dean, Phillip, and Amanda. The final question was weather-related, and exactly what Dean had been talking about earlier. Phillip preemptively declared that his team would have it in the bag with the steal, but it turned out that Jamie had been paying attention while working on his resolutions.

After the ball dropped, the boys realized how tired they were and started to head upstairs. The adults quickly became aware of the awkwardness of Joe and Dean being stuck at the house. They checked outside hopefully, but the snow was coming down as heavily as it was when Joe arrived.

The solution came suddenly to Amanda. "Fellas, go on up and brush your teeth and get your pajamas on, then come back downstairs. I'll get some extra blankets out and you can sleep down here tonight. Sweetheart, you and Dean can sleep in the boys' room." She'd flashed back to a week ago when two wounded men rested uncomfortably, unable to sleep in chairs in the living area of a small cabin. At least we had vodka. I'm pretty sure we could all use a shot right now. If it could bring us together with the Russian assassins, it could handle this little sleep-over. She'd had to take charge while Lee was feverish and in pain after being shot. That situation had been only slightly more awkward than this, if much scarier.

Lee! I forgot all about calling him! He hates hospitals. I hope he got to go home, but I'm glad he didn't call. That's all I would have needed with both Joe and Dean here.

"I hope you don't mind sleeping in the same room. Now that I'm working, we're going to turn the playroom into another bedroom since the boys are getting too old for bunk beds, but -"

"It's fine, Sweetheart. You don't need to explain. We'll be fine."

Joe was trying to be reassuring and cooperative, but Dean sure wished he and Amanda would stop calling eachother "Sweetheart". Hmm...she never calls ME sweetheart. It didn't occur to him that he never called her sweetheart either. He never called her anything other than "Amanda".

The boys dutifully got ready for bed and came back downstairs. It felt good to have both of their parents tucking them in and saying goodnight. Just like in the olden days, Phillip thought, missing the irony of anything being "olden days" to a 10 year old. He wondered if Jamie remembered. He wasn't even in Kindergarten when their parents split. It was a pretty big thought for such a young boy, but he was getting a few of those kinds of thoughts lately. Maybe he could get a 4th page for his resolutions homework out of it. Mrs. Davenport would be so surprised!

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Dean felt a bit out of place while Amanda and Joe said goodnight to the boys, so he went to the kitchen to help Dotty finish putting away the remnants of the Feast of Snacks, as Jamie had called it. When he opened the refrigerator to put the leftover cheese and pepperoni away, he caught a slight whiff of the Limburger and noticed the liverwurst. I wonder who that's for? I can't imagine Amanda, Dotty, or the kids eating it, and nobody knew Joe was going to be stuck in town, and it certainly isn't for me. He closed the door against the offending odor but couldn't close his mind to the sneaking suspicion that Amanda had bought them for another man. They were definitely what he thought of as Man Food, because no self-respecting lady would want her breath to smell like a jockstrap. Plus... she'd been canceling plans lately, saying she had to work late.

Joe also noticed the unexpected items when he put the few leftover slices of pizza in the refrigerator, but figured they were for Dean. It was typically considerate of Amanda to not include them in the snack trays, knowing that he passionately hated even the smell of liverwurst after getting food poisoning from it once. Or maybe it wasn't food poisoning, but it was the last thing he'd eaten before catching that stomach bug that was going around in his second year of law school. It wasn't bad going down, but dear, sweet, 8 pound, 10 ounce baby Jesus was it awful coming back up! Maybe I'll mention it later so he knows why she didn't put it out for him.

Dean had forgotten a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt at the house a few weeks ago when he'd stopped by after work to change the oil in Amanda's station wagon. She retrieved them for him from the laundry closet, then accompanied the men upstairs so she could get the tracksuit she'd bought Joe for Christmas. It had completely slipped her mind that she'd had to lend it to Lee several weeks ago when they'd been on the trail of an international museum robber. After he returned it the next day, she'd refolded it nicely then wrapped the box, so she didn't notice the faint, lingering scent of expensive fabric softener when she gave the box to her ex.

Joe sure as hell noticed, though. It definitely wasn't the same freshly-laundered scent he'd smelled on Dean earlier. "Smelled" was an understatement. He'd been practically assaulted by the man's Downy freshness. He could smell it again, now that they were alone in the boys' room. Plus, Dean was the wrong size; the suit wouldn't have fit. Joe wasn't sure if he was doing the math as an ex-husband or a lawyer, but things weren't adding up.

Or, rather, things were adding up. They were adding up to three. One boyfriend. One ex. And one other man who used fancy laundry products and very possibly enjoyed Limburger and liverwurst.

Dean noticed Joe sniffing the sleeve of the sweatshirt. "Anything wrong there, Joe?"

Joe awkwardly thrust his arm under Dean's nose. Dean sniffed obligingly. "You smell it too? It smells like cologne, right? Not the way new clothes smell."

He saw that meteorologist math quickly got the same answer that lawyer math came up with.

"I suppose somebody wearing a lot of cologne could have tried it on at the store before she bought it? Right?"

"Yeah, maybe. And maybe she had a stuffy nose and couldn't smell it. And then maybe she wrapped it before she got over the stuffy nose. That could have happened, right?"

"Right. That's probably what happened. Yeah."

Joe could tell Dean wasn't any more convinced than he was. He realized that as Amanda's current boyfriend, Dean had more cause to worry. Poor guy.

"But hey," he tried to cheer him up. "At least she remembered your liverwurst and Limburger. I guess she didn't put them on the snack trays because of me. Just the smell makes me-"

"Mine? No, those aren't for me. Can't stomach them." He paused for a second. "But now maybe we know why she didn't notice the scent."

"Why's that?"

"She couldn't smell it over the cheese."

It is a great tragedy that sometimes the gravity of a situation precludes the appreciation of a perfect, if unintentional, deadpan punchline. Both men recognized that this was such a moment, and in that moment, they became friends.

They could have called Amanda in to casually thank her for not serving the liverwurst to see if she had a harmless explanation that rang true.

They could have decided to ask Dotty about it when she came upstairs for bed.

They could have come up with a plan together, but each silently resolved to get to the bottom of it. Made resolutions, if you will.

Joe knew he'd find out eventually if it was anything consequential, the same as she'd find out if anything consequential happened with him. For him, it was almost amusing to picture his ex-wife trying to juggle 2 -or what the hell, why not 3- boyfriends. He'd feel bad for Dean, though. He decided not to say anything, but resolved to follow Dean's lead if he brought it up.

Dean however had no plan to bring it up. He was tired of always being the one to bring things up. The only things she'd brought up since she started that job were last-minute excuses. Sometimes she wouldn't bring anything up at all. Like tonight. She could have told him Joe was coming at 9. He'd have taken the hint and said he had to be up early. Which he didn't. He'd requested the day off so he could stay up to watch the ball drop with her. Still, he would have taken the hint. If Joe wanted to mention anything, though, he'd back him up. He liked Joe and was glad to have finally met him.

As he drifted off to sleep, Dean resolved to stop making all the effort in the relationship. He also resolved to always go back and rework his calculations when his forecasts were outside his very narrow acceptable margin of error. As he fell asleep, he had some vague notion that once Amanda met his mother, their relationship would move forward. Okay, that's a 3rd resolution. I'll ask Dotty to help set it up. She and Mother will adore one another.

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By the time Dean and Joe wandered downstairs in the morning, the sun was shining, the street and driveway had been plowed, and Dotty and the boys were finishing breakfast.

"Good morning, sleepyheads. Pancakes and coffee?" Dotty was surprised the men had slept so late. It was almost 10:30. "Leftover pizza? Sandwiches?" It had been ages since Dotty had to consider what grown men might want to eat at brunch time.

"Just coffee for me, thanks." Dean wanted to get home and feed his Guinea pigs, but didn't want to be rude. He'd call Dotty later in the week about arranging for her and Amanda to meet Mother.

"Joe, can I make you some pancakes?"

"No thanks. I'll just grab some pizza." When he opened the refrigerator door, he and Dean, who was looking for milk for his coffee, both noticed that the liverwurst and Limburger were gone. They passed a look between them, noticing that Amanda was also missing.

"Dotty, where's Amanda? She's not still asleep is she?" Joe knew Amanda was a morning person.

"She went to the grocery store for a few things in case you boys wanted to stay for lunch. Then she had to stop at work for a few minutes. She said she'd be back by 11. You will stay, won't you?" She'd completely missed The Look.

Dotty hoped the boys would stay. It was so nice having them both here, getting along. She pictured it as the first of many happy holidays they'd all spend together, if Joe ever stopped running off to save the world and if Dean finally got around to proposing to Amanda.

"I'm sorry, Dotty." Joe was the first to decline. "I have to pick my bag up from the hotel, check out, and return the rental by noon, then get to the airport to see if my flight is still scheduled for tonight."

"And my poor Guinea pigs will be waiting on breakfast since I didn't get home to feed them last night." Dean downed his coffee quickly. "Thank you for an enjoyable evening. Joe, good to meet you."

"Nice to finally meet you, too. I'll have to move the car to let you out, so I might as well hit the road as well. Fellas, give me a hug." They happily obliged, then followed the men to the door to see them out. "Be good, and I'll see you soon." He dropped a kiss on each of their heads as he and Dean headed out into the bright, frigid morning.

Dotty stood alone in the kitchen for a moment, her hands on her hips, vaguely thinking she'd missed something but for the life of her she couldn't imagine what. Altogether it had been a lovely New Year's celebration. She just wished Amanda had been home to say goodbye, but she knew she'd wanted to surprise her boss with the sandwich fixings before lunch time. Maybe I should have told them about that. Why, they probably think I have a new boyfriend with simply terrible taste in sandwiches.

She chuckled to herself, thinking how fortunate Amanda was that neither Joe nor Dean would ever ask her for a liverwurst and Limburger sandwich. Oh well, no harm done, I suppose. She was blissfully unaware of how ironically incorrect that last thought was.

"Okay boys, why don't you finish up your resolutions so your mother can read then over with you when she gets home." She'd peeked at their papers earlier. Her grandbabies were growing up, and even though she couldn't keep them young and innocent forever, she was proud of how mature and reasonable their resolutions were.

She had a feeling... no, she resolved... that it was going to be a great year.

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