Ringing in the New Year

There’s an old saying I heard many years ago: We must say good-bye before we can say hello. It’s a way of easing the pain of parting.

A similar saying applies to this time of the year: We must say good-bye to the old before we can say hello to the new.

Good-bye, 2021. You were a little unexpected, a little different, a little the same, a little exciting and a little disappointing. You were far from the hardest year in my lifetime, and you were far from the most difficult year in the past 100 years. Many people died. Many people were born. Many lost hope, and many became enlightened.

Hello, 2022. Not knowing what you’ll bring is a blessing and a curse. I’d like to be better prepared, but I guess I’m going to have to wing it like every year. Regardless of what you bring, the sun is sure to rise, rains to fall, winds to blow, snow to collect, flowers to bloom and birds to sing.