NEW YEAR’S EVE
The last day of 2020. Oh, how we will miss it so. NOT!
2020 has been tough.On all of us.Yes, there have been some really great things come out of it …. like more family time, social distancing friend times, new ways to communicate…like ‘Zoom’ , and more time to get to those pesky household jobs we’ve been wanting to do for years…like clean out our garages!
But as we all know, the job losses, separation anxiety from those we love, need for hugs, the feelings of anger/or fear, and of course the illness itself have been terrible.
Thinking back to New Year’s Eves past I have had the pleasure of many different kinds of celebrations. We’ve been to giant neighbourhood parties, massive ballroom dance nights, stay at home-games nights, murder mystery evenings, and one of my all time faves : the years we would get together with our actor friends and have themed New Year’s Eves. I am remembering our “South Pacific” night,”Under the Sea” night, and “Italian themed” evening to name a few.
The last couple of New Year’s have been some of my best yet because we either got to spend the whole evening babysitting our lovely grandsons or with our son, Darren, and his beautiful wife, Jenny. We booked the (latter)evenings in at the local “Mayfield Dinner Theatre” and were wined, dined, and entertained for hours by the incredibly talented,large cast of ‘tripple threats’. The buffet was wonderful, the conversations just the best,and we even had hats and noise-makers at our table.
But, as we all know, gone are the days of the big crowds or any crowd for that matter. So this year I will ring in the new year once again with my best friend, my husband, Terry. We will cuddle up in our jammies to watch the comedian, Ron James, on good ole’ Zoom and then return to Zoom later for a games night with our table partners ( D & J) from last year.
So: what will the New Year hold? Will the vaccines come to us sooner rather than later? Will our families stay healthy…in all ways? Will we have learned a thing or two about kindness? About reaching out to others in need? I hope so . I pray so.
Will we remember that we are not alone and that God really is aware of our heartaches and worries? You know,looking back, I really must say despite the annus horribilis I really did have a great year. I feel blessed to have travelled (Hawaii, Vancouver) before the pandemic hit, I feel soooo happy that our sons and their families visited us this past summer. I feel so much gratitude for my ‘pool friends’ who wanted to meet up every week (and we still DO!) despite the fact that we weren’t allowed into the actual pool anymore. I found that Zoom connected me visually with my best friends in the world (every single Sunday!) instead of once a year. I saw more of my city and surrounding area than I ever even knew existed as Terry and I headed out for weekly picnics summer, fall, and even winter! I’ve enjoyed my artistic adventures and had time to do them. I’ve written enough songs for another brand new album and enjoyed having more quiet time to connect with God and pray for all those in my life. (And that will never change.)
And most of all, I feel blessed to live with a man who takes true care of me. He does the groceries so only one of us has to take a chance. He comforts me when I’m blue and holds me up when I feel I can’t take another step. He makes me laugh every single day. He helps me with cooking and cleaning and for Advent he read to me every night leading up to Christmas. He showered me with Christmas gifts that he purchased from my family so I wouldn’t feel so apart from them all. And I wear his love like a soft mantle. It covers me but strengthens me .Warms me and dries my tears. Terry.
2021 is still a mystery at this point. But I have hope. I hope that we will get to the end of the year and look back and say, “You know, it was a pretty good year!”
Peace, love, and good health I send to you and those whom you love.
Let’s celebrate the good things tonight.