I'm having a very sedate New Years Eve, as I usually do. My brother and sister in law and I have been out to dinner and are back on the farm before 7 p.m. I'm not a big partier, so this day is largely lost on me. The last few years I've been with Nathan on this night - always at home, but always together - so this year is definitely different. But, change is good.
I visited the cemetaries today and put new flowers out. There's something very spiritual about connecting with one's history in that way. It's a way to honor the past and realize that our future is ultimately right beside them in that place, which means the present is all the more important.
I do not make New Year's resolutions, but I do use this time of year to think about what I want to focus on in the next year's time. I think this year will be the same as last - more serious about quiet time for prayer, meditation and thinking. That was my focus last year and it was a good one. I need to do even more of it.
It's hard to know what you think when you never take time to think.