I have made no resolutions, save to be happy.
I have eaten nothing “lucky” or numbered 7, but I shared a simple feast with loved ones.
I may not even make it to midnight.
But this has been one of the best and most unsettling (or unsettled) years of my life. Everything is set up to start, and I’m excited to see what it will all end up being. A new life in an old country.
Closer and yet still far from family.
New friends being made, and mourning the distance from others.
Ridiculous toddler and amazing husband.
New as we approach the new year, I hear the ending verse of Maya Angelou’s “On the Pulse of Morning” over and again. It is my New Years wish…
“Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes, into
Your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning”
Happy New Year, big sis!
Hope and I will try to take Maya’s advice and say Good Morning in sync. That might not be as simple as she expects it to be.
That is one of my all time favorite poems! If nothing else, it helps me to focus on hope for the future…. especially for a person who works in the Middle East…
> Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2014 17:16:59 +0000 > To: hopwoodmh@hotmail.com >