new year’s

End of a Decade

It’s not just the end of the year, it’s the end of a decade.  Puts things in a different light if you think of it that way.  Do you feel worn out at the end of a year?  I sure do.  I think it has more to do with the frenetics of Christmas than the conclusion of a year.  December is busy in so many ways that it’s the most exhaust ing month of the year.  It is also a good time to reflect because it is the ending and a new beginning all in one.  We measure so many things by the year like birthdays, graduations, weddings, births and deaths.  If you’ve had a rough year, then you put your hopes on better times to come.  If you’ve had a great year, you wonder if it can continue?

Ten years ago the media was abound with Y2K.  The end of the world will happen at the end of the millenia.  A computer glitch will bring the whole world to a stand still.  What a load of crap.  This decade we have a whole lot more important things to worry about like when is my damn sales revenue going to go up?  Ten years ago, I was 32 years old with two children, just moved into a house, vice president at the business and going a million miles an hour.  Present day, I’m still in the house, three children and now the president of the company.  You know those optical illusions, when you look at it one way you see a certain object and then you blink your eyes and see something completely different?  That’s what I feel looking back the past ten years.  In some ways ten years ago seems forever and in other ways it has gone the speed of light.

My main reflections are on the people who’ve impacted my life in the last ten years.  I had the birth of my daughter Jacqueline.  What a wonderful addition to our family she has been.  I can’t imagine the other four of us without her.  I also lost my grandmother and my father.  These are the first thing that come to my mind.  The great joys and the great sorrows.  It’s easy to ride the wave of joy.  It takes no effort at all.  It’s much more difficult to overcome grief.  You only realize these things until years later how they have affected you.

Personally, I have spent the past three years trying to defy mother nature by not accepting my own mortality.  I feel the aging of my body and don’t like it.  You want to go for a five mile run all hills.  Let’s do it.  I’m f***ing sore and my ankle hurts.  You want to do a mini triathlon.  Let’s go!  Let’s have another bottle of wine, I won’t be hurting in the morning.  You want another helping of these cheesy potatoe?  Pile it on.  I have tried my best to defy mother nature and it just doesn’t work.  Instead of fighting mother nature, I’m ready to accept her and be at peace with myself.  Is this a sign of maturity?

I’m looking forward to another ten years.  If all goes well, my house will be paid off.  I’ll get to see all my kids graduate from high school and head off to college.  There could even be a wedding in the next ten years.  Heck, I could be a grandpa in ten years. 

If you want to have a great conversation with your spouse, then select their New Year’s Resolution for them.  I always pick a resolution for Karen and the ensuing conversation is quite lively!

Happy New Year!

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