New Year’s

The New Year’s holiday is a different kind of holiday. Unlike Christmas and Easter, it is not the celebration for an important religious event; unlike the 4th of July and Memorial Day, it is not in memory of an important national event. And unlike Labor Day, it is not calling to mind an important time of national improvement. In some ways the holiday may seem a little silly. We are just turning a page on the calendar.

However, several decades ago the holiday took on a special significance for me. Our children were elementary school age and for their sanity really needed to be back in school, but they still had several days before school would start again. Like a lot of kids at the end of a long break, they were bored and unhappy. So, on New Year’s Eve, I gathered the family around the dining room table and together we reviewed our achievements of the year before. I remember it taking a long time as each of us had special memories and when one of us had a special memory, it would trigger a different memory in someone else.

This meeting included moments of gratitude and laughter, and more than once we would all say, “Let’s never do that again.”

After the review of the past year, we would share dreams and goals for the coming year. It was at this meeting that we would plan our summer family vacation. We would brainstorm a lot of ideas until one or two came to the top of the list. I would then ask each member of the family how they would prepare for the adventure. We not only planned our family vacation, but we discussed personal goals and talked about how we could help each other achieve those goals. 

As the kids got older and more articulate, this yearly meeting got longer and more interesting. Although the idea first began because I was trying to come up with a family activity that would keep the kids from fighting, it grew to be one of my favorite family events that I looked forward to each year. 

The kids have been out of the house for many years now, but I still take time during the New Year season to review the past year and think about what I would like to accomplish in the next 365 days.

This year I scrolled through pictures on my phone to remind me of things we had done, people we had seen, and a number of significant events which had transpired. Some of the events were routine: visiting at a retirement home every week and teaching at the First Term Airmen Class. Others involved special trips to see people: Tucson and Phoenix AZ, Lafayette LA, Red Wing MN, San Diego CA, and a trip to Washington and Oregon. As I thought through these events, it was clear that I enjoyed the routine events as much as the special events and trips. I finished my review with prayer and thanking God for all the gifts He has given me. Like George_Bailey, I have had a wonderful life. 

I also spent some time thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2023. Of course, every year is filled with surprises and unforeseen adventures, but I am looking forward to 2023.

I pray that you would take some time at the beginning of 2023, thanking God for what He has done in your life and thinking about the adventures that lie ahead. New Year’s doesn’t have to be just a day for turning a page on a calendar, it can be a day of thanksgiving and goal setting.