We know time passes quickly. It’s a common conversation among friends and acquaintances, a topic that crosses gender, cultural and generational lines. Our young teenage grandson once commented that the years were flying by, leaving me completely dumbfounded. At his age, my life loomed before me. Days seemed long, school terms lagged and summers were lazy.
Definitely not the reality now. Society as a whole seems to be fast forwarding through time. It comes as little surprise then that we find ourselves looking at the end of 2016. Twelve months have flown, less like the sands in an hourglass than like the dervish kicked up in the wake of a speeding dune buggy.
As we look at the final two days of December we find ourselves reflecting on the previous 363. We think of special events that brought us closer to people we love. We remember moments that surprised us and filled our hearts. We are grateful for the beautiful memories, for the blessings that came our way. We think about the people we met and remember those we lost.
Sadly there are regrets, too, over foolish fights, silly slights and overlooked opportunities. We might have spoken out of turn. We might have hurt someone who meant the world to us. It all inspires us at this point to think about who we are, who we want to be and what we can do to achieve that as the new year arrives. There will be resolutions made, some will succeed, most probably not. But at least we have planted the seed and we can hope that some of the goals we set to make us more the kind of person we want to be will be met in 2017.
Before then, however, there’s a party to be had. New Year’s Eve provides an opportunity to celebrate the promise of tomorrow with all the joy of living in the moment and no regrets over yesteryear. My husband and I have celebrated the occasion many times over now with friends, in a manner that reflected the passing of time. There is always music, noise and laughter. We could count on the consumption of food and drink with the same certainty we could count on the countdown and midnight kisses. It is only the level of these that has changed.
We began these celebrations in the late 1970s — a group of 10 friends, with youth and naivety on our side. At that time, our gathering was a house party, a scene that suited us well at the time with our youthful exuberance best contained among close chums. The desire for fun was high, the interest in regret quite the opposite.
As we came to our 30s we decided we were civilized enough now to take our show on the road and for several years spent New Year’s Eve at a crowded dance. All gussied up and full of fun we enjoyed sharing our circle with a wider group of acquaintances. While thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow were starting to get a little more attention, we didn’t dwell on them either. There was far too much to enjoy in the present.
Some time later we found ourselves spending Dec. 31 at house parties once again. We had outgrown the noise and frenzy of a larger gathering, complete with over-friendly strangers. Though we could still enjoy a good time, there was no question we were more sedate. There was a contemplative atmosphere to New Year’s that hadn’t been there before with more time spent on remembrance and reflection.
Now, with more years behind us than before us, the majority of those old friends have opted out of anything more than a nice dinner together. The rest of us, however, while continuing to give the past its due and the future its promises, on this Dec. 31 are ready to put a little more celebration back into the occasion. After dinner we’re heading out to a local nightclub to ring in the new year with music, noise and laughter once again.
The expectation has inspired these fantastic collections of New Year’s Eve clipart:
