Its a New Year

Happy New Year's to us all..

The first day of every calendar year is a strange time: it is a national holiday, so we take the day off, mostly because the entire country stayed up late squeezing in behaviors that they have sworn off in the new year. January 1st, a passle of babies will be ushered in today and each of them will have a birthday rought with post Christmas sale gifts and friends who are too tired to go out because of the all nighter they pulled on New Years.

Mine were all born in the Fall and each, like their dad, celebrates a birthday in perfect isolation from any major holiday. Poor mommy has a Christmas-ish birthday and always gets a bit overshadowed by the flying raindeer and our Lord in the manger.

New Year's is a birthday we all celebrate together. The passing of another year and high hopes for the year to come. Just like for our childern, we hope that this year brings good things for our communities and communal lives. We share this collective birthday and use it as a time of rebirth.

Happy New Years - may this year be filled with the wonders of childhood and the prosperity of youth.