Happy New Year!

I have great neighbors. Last night at midnight, we knew exactly where they would be: Out in the street in front of their house, banging pots and pans, whooping and hollering and wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Last night, we joined them with our own pots and pans. It was a great racket. The rest of our neighbors know all of us, and no one ever complains. I suspect that if they are sleeping and get awakened by their raucous neighbors for a couple minutes, they smile, realize another year has passed, and drift back off to dreamland. That’s what I’ve done on years I couldn’t stay awake until midnight.

Here it is again: The passing of another year, and the promise of the one to come. For many of us, the New Year marks a particular moment when we can hit a “reset” button: Okay, now I’m going to….what? We may want to eat better, or be more attentive to our bodies in some way. We may commit to financial awareness and integrity. Or we may decide that this is the year we’re going to finally take those singing classes we’ve been dreaming about.

When I was a kid, I didn’t get the New Year. I heard people talking about a new thing and I didn’t have enough of an understanding about this abstract idea called time to really grasp what was new.

I distinctly remember waking up on the “new year” and looking around, wondering what had changed? What was different? Where was the new? When I couldn’t figure it out, I felt as if everyone understood something that was lost on me. And I didn’t even understand it enough to ask what I was missing.

As an adult, I understand the concept of time a lot more fully. It isn’t as abstract an idea as it once was. I see my children growing. I see my hair going grey. I watch my parents and relatives get older each time I see them. Time moves. And it seems the older I get, the faster it goes.

More than ever, I like the ritual of New Year’s Eve. The way we have of saying: Hey, we get another year. What are we going to do with it?

I also want to remember what time felt like as a little girl: that time is just an abstract idea. There is today, and that’s all there is. I understand that better now, too. In a way, that was more right than all the understanding I’ve gained of how time passes. Today is what I’ve got. I’m going to make sure it counts.

Happy New Year, everyone!