I seriously love the holidays. I love the traditions my family has, the time we all spend together, and the overall feeling in the air. There is definitely something special about this time of year.
This year was a little different for me, though. I actually got to really enjoy the break without any stress AT ALL. It is the first time in 13 years that I haven't been in the middle of a school year and had homework or some sort of stress that didn't allow me to fully take advantage of the time I had off from school. This year, I had absolutely no homework. I loved it.
Also, I spent midnight of New Year's at home with my two littlest sisters. I have never done that before! I think for as long as I can remember, I have either been at the church dance or at home with everyone else asleep. It is definitely the first time I have ever been with Hannah and Brookie at the strike of midnight.
It was so entertaining to watch their excitement and complete jitters about the New Year. They worried about what they should be saying or doing when 2014 officially started. I laughed as Brooke was all snuggled into the bed she had made on the couch wondering out loud what she should hurry and say to finish off 2013 and start 2014. I chuckled at Hannah anxiously moving all around the family room unable to decide whether to be sitting on the couch, bean bag, lazy boy, or just standing up when the clock struck 12.
Finally, I just said, how about we all lay down, close our eyes, and make a wish, k? They loved the idea, so we all laid our heads by each other, closed our eyes, and made a wish. One would think we were preparing for a loud bang, an explosion of sorts, or even to feel something very different as 2014 greeted us.
Then, the moment we had all been waiting for. It was midnight. When we opened our eyes, Hannah jumped up and screamed, and Brooke kissed my cheek and said, "Alice got my first kiss!"
But I didn't feel any different, other than my phone exploding with 'Happy New Year' texts.
This got me thinking as I fell asleep with Brooke in my arms. Isn't it amusing how big of a deal we all make of it being a new year? Sure, it is fun to all change the date, and yes, I will struggle for the next six months by writing 2013 on all my papers, only to madly scribble it out and replace the 3 with a 4. I love the parties that we have, the big celebrations, even the fun thought that just moments before, we were in a whole different year, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the big deal everyone makes of wanting to become better in one way or another, simply because it is a new year. There's almost an unwritten rule that you can only set goals on December 31st, only to have almost all of the resolutions only last days, weeks, maybe even a few months. We shouldn't be waiting for a new year to set goals and find ways to make ourselves better. Shouldn't we be doing this every day of our lives? Assessing what we could be doing better? What we want to become and how to become it? I sure think so.
Regardless of whether you have made resolutions or not, I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's! I sure am excited about this year! I think it will be great, since 14 is one of my lucky numbers. I can just feel this year will be one I won't ever forget, or more importantly, one I will always want to remember.
HAPPY 2014, PEOPLE!
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