Recently, my dad posed the question, "Why is New Year's such a big deal?" He wasn't referring to the parties, or the frantic need to find someone to kiss at midnight, he was referring to the nearly universal need to celebrate that comes over the world at this time of year. Think about it - a great variety of cultures, for reasons secular or divine, have some sort of celebration when the calendar resets. There's something about a new year that seems to require some sort of observance beyond having to exercise extra caution when writing checks. It's a natural time to take stock of your life, make a note of what you want to change, and do something about it. It occurred to me tonight that the number 2007 feels odd. Every new date seems to, but there was something about this one that I couldn't put my finger on. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that five years ago, 2002, I rang in the year that has gone down in history as the most difficult year in my life thus far. Now, I have some perspective - just because a particular year was the worst one I've had in my short life doesn't mean it was as bad as it can get, and I'm grateful to not know how bad bad can be. But if I have a lucky number, it's the number 5, and I'd like to think that 2006 closed the 5-year cycle that began in 2002. And it did an excellent job - it started off rough, but gave me a Ph.D., my first real teaching experience and some quality time with my family, a great new job in a fantastic new town, and ended with one of the nicest Christmases in recent memory. So I'm raising a glass to 2007, in the hopes that a new cycle will begin. One in which every year is the BEST year of my short life. Foolishly optimistic? I'm sure. But what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Yeah...2006 is SO last year...
Recently, my dad posed the question, "Why is New Year's such a big deal?" He wasn't referring to the parties, or the frantic need to find someone to kiss at midnight, he was referring to the nearly universal need to celebrate that comes over the world at this time of year. Think about it - a great variety of cultures, for reasons secular or divine, have some sort of celebration when the calendar resets. There's something about a new year that seems to require some sort of observance beyond having to exercise extra caution when writing checks. It's a natural time to take stock of your life, make a note of what you want to change, and do something about it. It occurred to me tonight that the number 2007 feels odd. Every new date seems to, but there was something about this one that I couldn't put my finger on. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that five years ago, 2002, I rang in the year that has gone down in history as the most difficult year in my life thus far. Now, I have some perspective - just because a particular year was the worst one I've had in my short life doesn't mean it was as bad as it can get, and I'm grateful to not know how bad bad can be. But if I have a lucky number, it's the number 5, and I'd like to think that 2006 closed the 5-year cycle that began in 2002. And it did an excellent job - it started off rough, but gave me a Ph.D., my first real teaching experience and some quality time with my family, a great new job in a fantastic new town, and ended with one of the nicest Christmases in recent memory. So I'm raising a glass to 2007, in the hopes that a new cycle will begin. One in which every year is the BEST year of my short life. Foolishly optimistic? I'm sure. But what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic.
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