Cheers!

And so the New Year is upon us! Ring the bells, bang the pots, toast with Champagne, or eggnog, or other specialty cocktail, (or non alcoholic beverage). Welcome the New Year with high hopes, bright smiles, and dreams a-plenty. The turning over of another year, though it is the difference of only a day, brings with it the spirit of renewal, the belief in fresh starts, and new beginnings. It’s a rebirth of sorts, and we all get to ride that happy wave of expectation as a collective, bound together by a singular drive toward a better, brighter tomorrow.

But let us not, in our haste to escape with blistering speed the ghosts of 2014, forget the people who moved us forward like so many bits of flotsam on the rolling seas. The people who challenged us to be better, those that bewildered us and so forced us to question, and to stretch our understanding; those who hurt us and so taught us valuable lessons about our own strength and our ability to survive, as well as those who championed us and opened windows and doors.

On New Years Eve, I’ll raise my glass (there will be spiked eggnog in it!) with an open heart to those who hurt me, as well as to those who lifted me up so the sun could shine on my face though I might have stayed hidden. To those who stand beside me still with laughter, unconditional love, and optimism, I raise my glass especially high (there is a drinking game in this somewhere, I’m sure of it) and wish us all, with gratitude and great hopes for our brighter future, a Happy New Year!

With love,

Amanda