...And We're Off...

In an effort to make sure that our grandson enjoyed a New Year celebration, my wife and I, along with our 21 year old son, agreed to play a game of "Family Guy" Monopoly. We all wore appropriate "Family Guy" clothing and we had a rousing game in progress until a little after 10pm.

My son decided to admit defeat and said he was going to his room for a little while. He was sound asleep within 30 minutes.

Part of my recovery from depression has been the ability to finally get a good nights sleep on a consistent basis. This has only been achieved through the miracle of modern science, a miracle I decided to forgo in order to be awake at midnight to celebrate with my wife and grandson. I did take the medication around 11:30, which was shortly before both my grandson and my wife were asleep - in that order.

So who was the only person awake to celebrate the New Year? Who was the only person awake at 1:30 am?

I would normally consider this an inauspicious beginning but for the fact that I'm so glad that 2007 is finally over with.

I have had new year celebrations in the past where the next day I felt anything but new. Just imagine yourself in the shape you need to be in to feel that way. Now imagine that you're at the party the night before at the house of a friend. Well on your way to alcohol bliss, you walk into your friends bathroom, not having been forewarned that the floor was repainted:

I don't know about you, but this point I would have emptied my stomach of its contents in a rather dramatic fashion.

The start of the new year signals hope, even when you're digging out of snow, so I pray that the hope of the new year infuses your soul throughout the year.

Now on to Iowa.