"Same Auld Lang Syne..."

Well, it's here again. Another year over. If I may quote John Lennon. 


I always try to go with my mother's philosophy that if something is ending, something is also beginning. 


So 2011 is over but 2012 is just about to begin. 


As the years fly by and melt into each other, I find myself getting more and more anxious over the passage of time. As time passes, I realize that my mother was right "The older you get, the faster it goes." I used to hate admitting that my mother was right about anything. But time passed and she's gone so now I don't mind so much.


I looked up the meaning of Auld Lang Syne even though I already knew it. There are several translations. It's Sottish and it means "old long since". But that's literal and you can't take everything literally. It is also said to mean "for old times' sake" or "old times" or "days gone by" or, in the case of When Harry Met Sally, as Harry wonders what the lyrics mean, Sally says, "maybe it means we're supposed to remember that we forgot them. Anyway, it's about old friends!"


In my lifetime, I have been very blessed to have some amazing friends. I have my girls who have carried me through all the big stuff-love, loss, marriage, death. Then there is the surrounding support group. The people I don't see often but we don't hold grudges if we haven't seen each other for a long time.(Well, I don't, anyway.)  If I needed them, they'd be there. I have my "new" friends, most of whom I've known for ten years or longer. At this time of year, I think of all of them. Especially now because, as a caregiver, my time is so limited. 


I love to look back and remember all the fun and all the laughter. I try to put aside the bad times. Most of the really bad times were not so bad in hindsight. I'm not talking life and death bad, I'm talking your run-of-the mill parents split up, money trouble, speeding ticket stuff. Nothing was ever as bad as it seemed if I could just call one of them and we'd end up laughing about something else. I remember the parties and the walks and the outings and the shopping trips and the break-ups and the engagements and the pregnancy announcements!! 


Whole days spent at the beach. A whole week spent out of the sun due to sun poisoning. Ski trips. Camping trips. Great Adventure with me holding everyone's stuff because I was too afraid to go on giant roller coasters. We bolstered each other and held each other up. We also made fun of each other in that easy way that friends have. Endless dinners and get-togethers...No excuses needed.


I am so blessed to say that so many of these people are still in my life. We make new memories every time we are together. These days, that is not nearly enough!


We all get busy with our own stuff. We all get caught up in our own dramas (small and large). We all turn around and can't believe that another year has passed us by and we haven't gotten together.


At this time of year, especially, I am feeling the time pass all too quickly.

I wish I had the ability to savor every moment. I don't. It goes by and I realize that I've missed something. Something important. But, I don't have the time to stop and think about it.

Truth is, I don't make the time. None of us do.

When was the last time you sat with your siblings or cousins or Aunts or friends and laughed? I mean really laughed? Laughed with your stomach muscles?Laughed with your head? Laughed with your whole heart? Laughter is so under-rated!

I spend a lot of time crying these days and longing for what could have been. Longing for what can never be. I wish that I could turn back the clocks and the calendars and get some of those precious things back. Some of the things we don't even realize we are missing. In some cases, it could be an old friend. Or it could be a game we played as a child.  Or hair. Or a candy they don't make anymore. A favorite pet. A parent. I would have eaten more veggies and learned to like exercising. I would have started a family at a much younger age. But it's all spilled milk, isn't it? The proverbial water under the bridge.

All we can do as time marches by is join the parade. We need to find the joy in the little things. We need to laugh more. We need to take time to be still and have a conversation with God or whatever it is we believe in. We need to watch the sunsets and the sunrises. We need to spend time with the people we love. They leave us much too quickly! We need to always be learning new things and staying informed about our world. We need to show compassion to others less fortunate than ourselves.

We need to take this year of 2012 and make it ours. For better or worse. It's all we get. Just this year. Just this day. Just this hour. Just this moment. This is our life and we don't do it any justice by wishing for something else.

So to all my "old acquaintance" I've forgotten to remember and the ones I've remembered, I wish you a year that is filled with joy and pain, love and sorrow, laughter and tears. It's the same "Auld Lang Syne", my friends. It can't all be perfection, but it can be beautiful. 



My journey of faith has taken many twists and turns this past year and I have learned that there are forces much bigger than I  running this show called "Life" and so I need to put some faith in those forces that it will all turn out as it should. 

I hope we can all find some joy, peace, love, and prosperity this year. And hopefully these things will balance out whatever else the fates have in store.

"God bless us, every one." Happy New Year!