Happy New Year

Each year was the same, quietly waiting for the New Year to come in while I watched TV and reflected on the past year.  The two girls were tucked in bed hours before. I was thankful for the regular babysitting job and the extra income it provided.

I remember as a fifteen year old reflecting on what it was like to dress up and go out for the evening.  She always looked so sparkly and happy. I dreamed of being a grown up – wondering what my Prince Charming would look like and how many children I would have.  Imagining leaving the kids with the babysitter and smiling as we headed to the car for an evening of wonder.

And…here I am.  Thirty years later.  Some things have changed and some have not.  While Dick Clark isn’t hosting – the ball still drops in Time Square.   But, for the most part, my dreams did come true.  Maybe not in the way I thought they would, but I am happier with the way my life turned out.

Same quiet evening waiting for the New Year to arrive. But this time surrounded with family and friends that make my heart swell so big just trying to describe them to you.  The ball descended as my husband had his arm around me. A blessing I was ever so aware after He suffered a pulmonary embolism this past year.  My two beautiful teenagers were standing close by us. Again, blessed they wanted to spend New Year’s Eve with us.

If there is one thing I would want in life more than that, it would be a bestie.  You know the kind, they love you through thick and thin. The kind that makes you a better person just by being around her.  The one who gets you.  That’s what my bestie is like.  Life is just better traveling it with a bestie.

And there I stood, with my bestie and her family. There was nowhere else in the world I’d rather be at that moment than with my family and her and her family.   We had spent time earlier in the evening with our families praying together.  How awesome is that?  Plus, amazing food – lots and lots of it.  Then there were the games and more chatting and more food – you get the idea.  What more could I want?

I wouldn’t be who I am today without those standing in the room with me.  My bestie encouraged me to write my first ever so intimidating word.  She’s been my cheerleader as I’ve toddled through the first steps of getting words on paper.  She’s gently prodding  me every step of the way.  Committing to writing every day – that was her challenge to me on New Year’s Eve. Life is good.  No, life is great!

If I could go back and tell my fifteen year old self what life would be like in 2014, I’d tell her it some parts would be way harder than I thought they would ever be, but some parts were way better than I could have ever imagined.