We all have heard that famous New Year's Eve statement, I'm sure. Ring in the New Year WELL, and the rest of the year will be a success. Celebrate the waning hours of Dec 31st in a mediocre mood, and you somehow jinx yourself with a bad luck year.
Like a huge make-or-break moment, the superstition puts a sort of pressure on the person receiving the challenge.
Readers, I am here to tell you that my New Year was quiet. Did my year start off "bad" or seemingly doomed? Well, it might be too soon to tell, but I CAN tell you that I came into a small windfall on Jan. 6th. If that's any indication of how a quiet evening at home, spent with family and tons of good food, should play out in the forecast of good fortune, then by all means, make an assessment.
The last New Year's Eve I spent home was 2008, the year my marriage ended and I was grieving the loss. Now, anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one, whether through death or marriage, knows how painful the holidays can be. It's like a piece of your soul has been hi-jacked, and the pain is so debilitating you feel consumed and lost. Constant reminders swirl around you, of how happy others are, and it evidently jolts you into a rude awakening.
That New Year was spent with family, surrounded by a king-sized table of food and feasting, with beautiful holiday music and three older couples. I was invited, naturally, by my mother who did not want to see me grieving in a dark house alone on the last day of 2008. We ate til we could eat no more and laughed til our insides hurts, playing Balderdash, a classic game of bluff where you outsmart your opponents. I made the most of that N.Y.E. and went to sleep somewhat contented, with a little less heartache lingering.
This is where the adage arises again. That brand new year, 2009, was eventful, with new friendships and adventures to add to the Passion Chronicles memory book. So the superstition that a N.Y.E. spent at home without the traditional, hyped festivities celebrated out of the house, does not always hold strong in its perceived notion.
The next five New Year's were spent out on the town, celebrating in high spirits, in the conventional way.
While these years were equally good, I have arrived at the conclusion that whether I spend New Year's Eve home with a quiet dinner or it's spent in Niagara Falls at an outdoor concert, I know the symbolism will be no less valid, that the year being rung in will be no less or more worthy of great happiness.
So here's a toast to years bygone and brand new years to come. Let's not get stuck on superstitions that may or may not bring us good luck. Let us celebrate every day like a miracle from the heavens. Trust that it will bring what you truly deserve: the heart's content. At the end of the day, that is what really counts.
KEEP THE PASSION ALIVE,
RR
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