Happy 2008 (I think)

Ahhhh the New Year. I hear people say all the time, "What's so big about the New Year?" But being the incurable optimist in a land where hope springs eternal, anything NEW with a fresh start is salivatingly exciting to me. It makes me think of birthdays, first days of school, first dates. It's a present unopened that promises to have a surprise. Granted, it may not be a good one, but the anticipation of finding out leaves me quivering with excitement.

I can stand face-to-face with my flaws (and document them so you can get to know them as well), and the New Year is a chance for me to tackle one or two of them in a 365 day period (and since I project to have, say, 50 more New Years to go, I should be able to tackle most of my flaws by the time my life is over).

So when the flu decided to pay me an unexpected visit just 3 days prior to New Years Eve, I panicked. Not only did it wipe me out for days (now on day 5 and still ill), but more alarming, it threatened to rob me of a respectable New Years Eve celebration. I think of it this way -- just as the invitation sets the tone for a party, New Years Eve sets the tone for the year. Honestly, if you usher in the New Year with friends and family and a smile on your face, it seems, in a comforting way, that through the year you'll always have those people near you and something to smile about.

I'm having to overcome the fact that I sat on my sofa watching the ball drop shivering with a 102 degree fever as my husband called from the neighborhood party to wish me Happy New Year. No kiss, of course, with all those germs (5 days later and still no kiss). The bright side is that I've successfully kick-started one of my resolutions to eat less (since I can't keep anything down, so maybe I'm just throwing up more, which is definitely NOT on the resolution list), and I think I've lost some weight.

Chris has promised me a New Years Eve do-over. Since staying up until midnight isn't really foreign to us, you may just hear some horns blowing at our house on a random Tuesday night. As long as it ends with a kiss...

Many wishes to you for a peaceful (like, stop and breathe deep kind of peaceful) 2008, where you change the things that leave you discontent and stop wrestling with the things that can't be changed. Make someone else's life better on a regular basis and help those whose load is a little heavy to carry alone. And love. Love BIG.

Those true things will set the tone for the best year of all.