diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index a0825f7b..118ccc89 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -10,3 +10,4 @@ tmp/
 
 # css is compiled from scss in /styles
 public/main.css
+package-lock.json
diff --git a/lib/parse/promise.js b/lib/parse/promise.js
index f21afac9..5f5bdbe9 100644
--- a/lib/parse/promise.js
+++ b/lib/parse/promise.js
@@ -30,7 +30,17 @@ export const parsePromise = ({
   const { tini, tdue: dueDate, tfin } = promise
 
   const text = parseText({ text: urtext })
-  const { eventTitle, isAllDay, startDate } = parseSherlock({ text, timezone })
+  let { eventTitle, isAllDay, startDate } = parseSherlock({ text, timezone })
+
+  if ( moment(startDate).isBefore(moment().subtract(1, 'years')) ) {
+<<<<<<< HEAD
+    log.warn('parsePromise rejected, past due date:', startDate)
+    startDate = null // clear startDate if more than a year ago
+=======
+    log.debug('Caught and fixed promise with old parsed start date of:', startDate)
+    startDate = null; // clear startDate if more than a year ago
+>>>>>>> 9cc7fb723ff8ffe9392ad605ffe3ae22362c6d63
+  }
 
   const tdue = dueDate || (startDate && moment(startDate)
     .add(+isAllDay, 'days') // turn boolean into 1 or 0