Happy New Year

Is there a better way to ring in the New Year but with bed jumping and rockets?  Not to these two.  I guess you can't really see the rockets in these, but they are reaching for two rockets; one G made at sic-tech camp yesterday and the other air rocket that we have a pair of.  Rockets are fun.

New Year's around here is a pretty tame affair.  I was thinking about why this would be, and I think it's because I'm a sales spouse, and our life is lived in quarters.  And EOY is a huge deal and when end of year falls on 12/31 (as opposed to when 12/31 is a Saturday / Sunday) it's a huge work day.  Work-till-the-ball-drops kind of work day.

This year was a little better, Lew was home by 830 I think.  But he made work calls till about 930.  And I was in bed by 1030.

Rabble rousers we are not.

But 2015 comes whether you stay up late drinking too much or not.  And at least I can say I do not have a hang over.

And these folks that keep their kids up till midnight ... are you high?  No really; are you high?  Who enjoys that?  My kids stop being fun somewhere around 9 (and that's a late night for us).  No way they'd make it an additional three hours.

There are lots of folks reflecting on 2014, and I've seen several comments on FB about how 2014 was a terrible year.

I don't really see that.  From my outside perspective on their lives - which admittedly doesn't cover it - it doesn't seem that bad.  I've only ever had one year that I was really glad was ending, and that was 2012 and it was with mixed feelings as the heart surgery was then four days away.

But 2012 was a good year.  D came to us a health, squalling, purple goopy baby.  I had a good pregnancy.  We bought a new house.  Even though I was glad it was ending, it was a good year.  Heck, it was the year we saved Lew's life!  Which sounds dramatic but um ... sometimes the truth is dramatic.

Even 2013, with all of it's angst and upset and recovery, that wasn't a bad year.  If he hadn't had the surgery he would have died.  Recovery was hard, but recovery from surgery is way better than me recovering from the alternative.  Alone.

I have simple rules for a "good" year.  Actually, it's one rule ...

"When you have your health, you have everything.  When you do not have your health, nothing else matters at all." Augustin Burroughs.

And this has been so true.  Seen through the prism of not having a new year, all years look good.  Actually there is neither good nor bad, more than likely, there simply is.  I have good days and bad days, but on the whole there are more good than bad.  Because we are all healthy.  And we are together.  And as long as that remains to be true, everything else is manageable.

We are so very, very blessed.  I don't know why.  I really don't.  I know I am grateful and I will be grateful for all the years of my life that we have been so blessed.  There are hard days.  And my husband drives me crazy and my kids are turning my hairs gray.  My job is monotonous and the laundry is stacked so high it's just a joke.

But I have clothes to wash.  Healthy bodies to feed.  A house to keep.  A husband to gripe about.  And for that I am blessed.  Happy New Year all.  May the best of your past, be the worst of your future.