Happy New Year 2026!

Last night I watched the ball drop on Times Square in New York City as I have for so many years. Actually the past 3 to 5 years I have not watched but have gone to sleep much earlier. This year, I was awake. What struck me most was the happiness on all the faces, the smiling and waving and the kissing and hugging -all the good will gathered in those thousands upon thousands of people standing peacefully in that Square, swaying to the music and looking dreamily at the world. I felt our common humanity and I felt hope.

The Morning - a news column in my e-mail news feed wrote about how it always brings us bad news: wars, mass shooting, natural disasters, political chaos, climate doom and then it went on to talk about how this morning, it would write about HOPE - not the sticky sweet kitschy sign kind, but the real kind, that helps us go on. Here is a little excerpt:

"To cultivate hope, people need three things, Zaki said: They first need to be able to envision a better future, either personally or collectively. Second, they need the willpower or motivation to move toward that future. And third, they must be able to chart “a path from where they are to where they want to be,” he added."

I keep lists because I hae always found comfort in them, order out of chaos. A plan, a map is indeed helpful in offering a view forward. Today I have one chore which is to empty and order my table drawer which can barely close now. My next item is to shower and dress in warm clothes and spend the day writing in my hournal, Art Journaling, and contemplating my resolutions and my state of existence.

It is freezing cold outside and when I awoke this morning, early, and let the dog out into the yard, the world was encased in a white frozen shell. The powerful sun has forced that frozen shell back into its water form and it has disappeared back into the soil mostly, but it is till too cold for me to walk the dog. Fortunately, Uma isn't tormenting me for a walk. She is sleeping on the sofa beside me. I am thankful for that little bit of peace. I am thankful for the bowls of creamy potato soup I have in the freezer too, that I bought at Pat's Select Pizza and Grill yesterday, which ensures me good hot midday meal that I don't have to cook. Thanks to my sister, I am fully stocked for the weekend. We went shopping at ShopRite yesterday despite her injured shoulser (which is better today) and Chewy delivered Uma's canned food and treats, so we are warm, well fed, and grateful on this first day of the new year. I cannot believe it is 26 years into the new millennium! I can't believe I am 20 years retired - or - for that matter that I am 80 years old! It is a shock and a gift all wrapped in one. Among the things I cannot believe is how all the relatives who were older than I am, are now dead - all the family I knew growing up are gone, most recently my Aunt Vinnie who died in Texas at the age of 87. These were my contemporaries as a child, Aunt Susan (dead and buried at Gloria Dei Old Swede's Church in Philadelphia. Cousin Ricky Hoffman dead in NJ - these three are the most recent and the ones who were my age and I knew in my childhood. The older Aunts and Uncles are long gone along with the grandmothers, grandfathers, and my parents - hardest of all to think of especially at the holidays.

WEll, more on resolutions later, but for now, I am signing off! Happy New Year!

wrightj45@yahoo.com