Auld Lang Syne

Looky what I got:



pretty little mother o' pearl spoon for the proper enjoyment of caviar. I started my day in the mellow and lovely Seattle Caviar shop, purchasing, what else?, caviar for tonight's latkes (paddlefish...like osetra but way less expensive) and some pate de fois gras. We'll enjoy that with a bottle of the Orange Widow and I. can't. wait.

The Spouse and I will be ringing in the New Year alone this year. The Child is off with The Boy. Rumor has it they will be at the Space Needle watching it light up at midnight. She's pretty excited.

As I was on my way to the caviar shop the local NPR station was doing a program, asking about individuals song for 2007...the song that meant the most or was most reflective of the year past. It was fun and started me thinking about what song summed up this year for me. It's harder than it sounds.There were some 80s songs that came to mind, what with all the time JP and I spent at the club this year. But then, 80s music is pretty much always my soundtrack and nothing really stood out. I considered "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, which is my theme song for these emerging days of parenting a teenager. But that's only one part of my life. I thought of "Chicago", given our stellar visit there this year and all our peeps there (shout out, y'all). But again, just part of the overall experience.

I ended up being forced to look a little more deeply at what 2007 has meant for me. You well know it's been a year of challenge regarding the whole "what am I going to be when I grow up" thing. I expect there will be actual movement on that front in '08, so long as I apply myself. Which is sometimes hard for me. There have been ups and downs with the family, but more ups than not and our current state of bliss is a reminder that you have to hang on in the valleys if you want to regain the peaks. This has been a year, fundamentally, about believing in myself and what I want, about how the most valuable things don't come without effort. Kind of a funny thing, really, when you think about this being my jubilee year. I mean, really, oughtn't a person to have figured that out by the time she's 50? It's pretty basic, after all.

But better late than never.

I'm blessed. I love my husband. My kid shows signs of turning into a reasonable human being. I've got awesome friends. I've got you. There's money enough to buy caviar and champagne. There are only 386 days left of the Bush presidency. I've got a lot to do in '08 and that's a good thing, even if some of it scares me a little.

So here's to growing up, to hanging in there, to believing in the best and trying hard not to mire down too much in the worst; ultimately, here's to perseverance. *clinkies*

Oh, and yeah, this is my song for '08. And it gives rise to one resolution for 2008: I really have to start listening to something other than Radio Disney.

Happy New Year, kids. I love you.



Jonas Brothers "Hold On"