I admit it, New Year’s is not my favorite holiday. Football and resolution making just don’t hold my attention I guess. They pale in comparison to 4th of July fireworks, Thanksgiving dinner, and trimming the Christmas tree.
By January 1, I’ve had enough holiday food. A bowl of black bean soup sounds great.
But many friends do, indeed, celebrate the New Year. Facebook proves it. You’re celebrating this year in Miami and New York City, at the K of C Hall up the road, and at the Rose Bowl.
You’re making those resolutions again this year; you’re not smoking, saving some money, getting new jobs, going gluten free.
You’re toasting at midnight, and nibbling on bacon-wrapped dates. You’re wearing party hats and plastic tiaras.
Wherever we are, we’re wishing each other well on this New Year’s Day. We wish one another health. Happiness. Joy. Prosperity. Good luck. Peace. Hope.
But my childhood friend Cleo put it differently. She said, looking back on a particularly rough time in 2013, “Okay old girl, here comes another one to get through. I guess I’ll just keep on keeping on.”
And some of us will just keep on. A. will show up for chemo, still in shock that it is really lymphoma. L. will take her little girl to fancy hospitals for endless needle sticks and complicated genetic tests. E. will hold on to whatever shreds of her marriage she can. S. will cry for the baby that died. C. will try once again to make ends meet. R. will keep looking for a place to live. M. will mourn for the dreams that, she believes, will never come true.
The sun will rise tomorrow, and “the holidays” will officially be over. Winter stretches before us, a long road, with some slush piled up along the sides. Real life is waiting.
And even though I wish you health and happiness and all the rest, the real meat and potatoes of the New Year gets served up when the wishes don’t come true.
So let me rephrase those wishes just a bit.
When you are sick, I wish you a hand to hold and a hopeful heart.When you are hurting, I wish you a compassionate friend who will come and sit by your side.When you are cold, I wish you a safe place to call home.When disappointments mount, I wish you the gift of gratitude and the ability to county your blessings. When money is tight, I wish you the satisfaction of honorable work. When the noise of the world deafens, I wish you a calm and quiet heart.
Blogger Alyssa Cherry put it this way: I hope your year is filled with soft pjs and best friends in yellow kitchens and banana pancakes and loved ones who feed the chickens while you pretend to sleep in.
Here comes another one. Keeping on is a great resolution. Let’s get through it together, okay?
The Quality of the Day 
Thank you for stating the point so simply. Looking back 2010 was a year from hell for me but 2011 began with just a bit of hope and I kept on. 2014 seems to be starting out with hope as well. The best resolutions are the simplest. The best years are filled with simple thoughts and actions. I too will keep on keeping on and life will go on.
I couldn’t have put it better myself. I will keep on keeping on as well. I exho the wishes for others this year. I would add to the wish list that when it feels like there is not a supportive soul in sight remember that somewhere out there someone you don’t know is thinking of someone life yourself.