New Years Eve...

In the last few years, New Years Eve has become more than just a night to party, stay up late, kiss my honey at midnight, etc. When we were younger, and first married, My husband and I always got together with our best "couple friends". We all met around the same time, became couples around the same time, and even though they got married a year before us, since they were a couple years older than us, we were sealed to our spouses within days of each other, and each attended the other's sealing. We were inseparable in those days, and they had even named us as the guardians to their little girl if anything happened to them. The years went by, and our 2 boys came along....Our marriage got stronger, and theirs fell apart. The first year we missed a New Years Eve with them was when I was pregnant with Alec....we made an excuse, and spent it with my family. Even though we didn't consciously realize it, something had changed, and we didn't enjoy being with them as much anymore. We still tried to get together, but it left my husband and I dissatisfied every time. Our best couple friends divorced 3 years ago. It was about that time that I started to look at New Years as more than a "party" night.

The last couple of years, we've spent New Years Eve with our kids, snacking, playing video games, and laughing a lot. However, I also find it a very introspective time....time to let go of the bad things that happened in the year, and to clear my mind and my emotions for the year to come.

Every year for the last 3, I've indulged in this personal spa type ritual. I shut myself in my bathroom, and turn on music that makes me relaxed and contemplative. This year, it was Sarah McLachlan's "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy", but another favorite is Lisa Loeb's "Firecracker". I turn on a long, hot shower in a spotlessly clean bathroom, and I give myself a full body scrub. This isn't just a beauty ritual, however. As I scrub, I recall all the negative thoughts and emotions I've felt during the entire year. I visualize them being scrubbed away from my psyche. I let any disappointments, fears, and hurts come to the surface. Then I visualize letting them go, rinsing them down the drain. I always feel lighter when I come out. I prefer using a salt scrub for this (sometimes I use a store bought scrub, sometimes I make my own by mixing non-iodized salt with my favorite body wash of the moment), because salt is used to absorb negative energy in many forms of alternative healing therapies. Plus, it doesn't interfere with the scent of your body wash like sugar does.

So, I end 2007 by letting go of all the bad things that happened to me this year, by embracing all the happy, wonderful memories of this year, and by playing with my children and husband as if we were all children again.

Oh, and those fireworks you hear at midnight are ours.

Namaste -