Happy New Year thoughts

Happy New Year! Everyone says it, and probably means it, but it's a funny phrase to me. It carries with it great hopes and goodwill wishes, but lacks power. Perhaps it is too ambitious a phrase. Maybe it falls short because it's a wish for a whole year. Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, and the rest only aspire to a single day, which is much more manageable. But Happy New Year goes for the whole 365. May this year be the best yet, certainly way better than last year, which may have been pretty darn good depending on your particular situation. There's a hollow ring to me... so much can happen in a year. This past year our family had sickness and new life, laughter and tears, a new school and the same old same old all mixed together. And that's life. So happy New Year - really. But whether the whole year is happy or not, just try to remember to savor the living of it.