By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

My mother always said what you do on New Year’s is what you’ll find yourself doing all year long. I don’t know if that was a “mama Potts-ism” or if someone notable (other than my mama) actually said that little nugget.

But it was a “rule” we lived by and I guess I still do to this day. It was important to her to have a clean house to usher in the new year, to be debt free and have a fully stocked freezer. In fact, my sister called me Thursday and said she was cleaning her house when I asked what she was up to.

I don’t know when my mother started her New Year’s saying, but I’ve always remembered hearing it. We would clean our rooms and complete our chore list before the new year came into being. I always thought it was a way to get us to clean our rooms, but apparently others in the Salisbury Post office have heard it and done the same.

It always made me think twice about my New Year’s plans, my state of mind and if my house was clean enough because — let’s face it — who wants a messy house all year long?

My mother’s saying got me thinking about my family’s traditions, the activities and meals we always managed to tackle for the upcoming year. My immediate family are not big drinkers. Actually, I don’t drink alcohol nor does my mother, but every child always got their own mini bottle of sparkling grape juice for the new year.

We’d pour our chilled bottles into a wine glass and toast to new beginnings. One year, my niece, who was probably six or eight at the time, pretended to be tipsy even though she was drinking grape juice. We still laugh about that one. But it’s come to be a custom in our house. I think I’ll pass that one on to my children.

Growing up in a Christian household, New Year’s Eve, was always spent at church. We didn’t watch the “ball drop” or hang out with Dick Clark or Ryan Seacrest to ring in the new year — we attended church and had breakfast the next morning. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t go to church on New Year’s Eve. I’ll pass that one on to my children. In fact, even my little one who is only four months old will be at church.

I wouldn’t call my mother superstitious, but there were some southern rituals we have always continued when it came to meals on New Year’s Day. The meal must include collard greens and sometimes black-eyed peas. I think it wasn’t just in the Potts household, but lots of people eat collard greens on New Year’s Day because the green vegetable represented money and who wouldn’t want more of that? The black-eyed peas “resembled” the coins and thus would bring wealth in the new year.

Another explanation for the little legumes is that because dried beans expand in volume, they symbolize expanding wealth. Some southerners add pork to the mix for a New Year’s Day meal. I honestly didn’t know why our family and others ate pork so I turned to Google for this one. Apparently, pork not only adds flavor to greens and peas (that’s why we ate it), but some say because pigs root forward when foraging, the pork represents positive motion. I’ll take that and add ham to our dinner this year.

I want 2016 to be better than the previous year because, frankly, 2015 wasn’t so kind. My husband’s father died, I lost my uncle and godmother and our little girl was born earlier than we expected. But I’m a firm believer in out of turmoil comes triumph (did someone famous say that?). In time we will be at peace with the loss and revel in the memories we made with those who’ve passed on and our baby girl is healthy and gaining weight. I know she’ll continue to be just fine.

I’m looking forward to 2016. I’ll drink (my sparkling grape juice) to that.