Happy New Year

Ah, here we are in 2007, and it crept into Chez Langan and caught us all unawares. Because we were asleep, folks. Not a creature was stirring. It was a New Year's "Rockin" Eve, indeed.

But we did manage to send 2006 off in fine style, even if we didn't wait up to see it out the door. We had a nice dinner together; apricot glazed salmon, which the kids ate and then pronounced "we don't like salmon." Um, that horse has left the barn, guys.

We played some rousing games of American Trivia, Junior Edition and Great States! as well as a little I Spy - Mystery on the computer; because nothing says Happy New Year like games that test your knowledge of the history and major exports and cash crops of the United States (admit it, you know you want to party with us.) The kids were in bed at 7, and then Rob and I watched tv and ate all kinds of junk food as a last hurrah before resuming The Healthy Lifestyle, 2007 edition. And it was kind of surprising that there wasn't much that we wanted to watch . . . well, that we could both agree on anyway. There was plenty of football, which Rob wanted, and plenty of Platinum Weddings, which I wanted, but no middle ground (platinum weddings at a football stadium?). I found an Absolutely Fabulous marathon on BBC America that we watched for a while, since we both think it's hilarious (if you've never seen it, I can't explain it because the British accent doesn't translate so well over the blog. You've got to have the accent.)

And then we were at loose ends. I saw Rob starting to fall asleep with his book open, and so I figured we should go down to the kitchen and toast the New Year before he just gave in to sleep altogether. We popped the cork, clinked the glasses, and drank our sparkling wine, and then Rob went to bed. It was 10:08. (But to be fair, he is on call this week and he had a nice fat hospital service waiting for him. For some reason, people like their doctors to be, you know, alert and all.)

And then there was one. I wasn't feeling tired, so I thought it would be no problem to stay awake and read until the midnight hour. The death knell for that plan came when I crawled into bed next to Rob and opened my book. The next thing I remember is The Boy running into our room crying because people next door were setting off firecrackers and he was scared. So I let him climb into bed with us, all the while grumbling to myself about the neighbors. Why do they have to be so, so . . . celebratory? If they wake up that baby, I'm gonna go out there and get all medieval on their a**es. (Yes, I exhibit a strange combination of incoherence and outright hostility when I am roused from a deep sleep.)

So now I am feeling a little nostalgic for 2006, because '06 was so good for us. Our family spent the whole year together, which was an improvement over '05, when Rob was finishing his call-up with the Navy reserves. The Boy has made such tremendous progress with all of his therapy that he is practically unrecognizable as the same child. Older Girl continues to march to her own beat, happy and healthy and still, always, herself. Rob was promoted at work, and has embraced the new responsibilities that it entails. I started blogging, which has been such an unexpected blessing to me. This small outlet, this little corner of adult time, has made a huge difference to me; not to mention all of the wonderful, fun, creative people I have met out there in Blogville. And, saving the very best for last, our darlingest darling Baby Girl came to us in '06. She is joy personified. She is our reunion baby, the result of so much happiness that I truly feel like it must have been encoded into her very DNA structure. She is a little light in our home, drawing everyone together and towards her, warming us, and cheering us. My head is spinning from the goodness!

I know 2007 is full of its own unknown possibilities, and next year I will be writing with the same bittersweet feeling, but right now the change is a little daunting. I am resistant to change because I never want to jeopardize what I have right now for what I might have in the future, even though the changes in my life have always brought me some of the most unexpected blessings. "Let go and let God" is easy to say but so contrary to human nature. We are tenacious, we are meant to claw and cling to anything familiar. It's how we think we can survive. And we could survive that way, but we can't thrive that way. Thriving requires change. So I guess, if I was the resolution-type, I would resolve to thrive in 2007, with all of the change that entails.

Happy New Year, my lovely friends and family. We wish you the best kinds of changes for 2007 and a year full of happiness, health, and peace.