Hoping for more joy in new year

The year is almost over. Finally. I was beginning to think it would never end. These last few months have been one thing after another. I have been so concerned with family matters that I completely missed the entire season of autumn. I even skipped most of the rituals I associate with Christmas as I was seldom at home to decorate. Now that winter is officially here and the holidays are almost over, I am hoping things will settle down.
We had a good Christmas. We added a balloon toss to our annual wrapping paper fight. We found out that none of us can bat an oversized balloon with any accuracy as the balloon landed behind a chair more often than not. It was especially challenging when we were all laughing so much we could barely react to the floating orb of plastic-wrapped air.
I also managed to get the perfect gift for the senior in high school. I am not referring to the cash he received. I had the brilliant idea to identify my brothers’ presents with photos of them when they were young. My nephew thought it was wonderful since he took possession of the pictures so he could show his friends what his dad and uncle used to look like.
It’s too bad that I didn’t have school pictures of the rest of the adults in attendance. Next year I will have to go on a scavenger hunt for old photos earlier than a couple days before Christmas. The pictures were as much of a hit with everybody as the presents were. I highly recommend it as a way to liven up the festivities as well as to spark old memories.
We also got to spend some time with the grandchildren. We carved boats out of soap and sailed them down the creek, or at least we tried to. The boats floated, but the water was so still that they didn’t go anywhere. It didn’t matter. The kids had fun trying. Then they fished them out of the water so they could try again some other day.
The year was like the boats. We had lots of good intentions that didn’t always pan out. Sometimes we had a lot of fun. We made good memories and tried new things. We laughed a lot and cried a little. Sometimes things were more fun than our wildest expectations. Sometimes life knocked the wind out of us and left us wondering if we could ever go on. Through it all, our friends and family held us up and gave us the gift of laughter.
Life is like that. There are good days and bad days. Every once in awhile we have a brilliant idea that brings joy to others. Most days we just muddle through, waiting for the next disaster to arrive.
I sincerely hope that this upcoming year brings more joy than tears. We have a long, cold winter to get through before we can enjoy the spring. It is the trials and tribulations that make the successes so sweet. The upcoming year will be challenging in its own way but if we are lucky, our friends and families will be there to pick us up when we are down and celebrate with us when times are good.[[In-content Ad]]