Happy January

I feel like I'm supposed to have some deep thoughts on the end of 2004 and the beginning of 2005. I don't.

I can safely say that my life looks nothing whatsoever like I'd anticipated 12 months ago. I don't know how much of that is because I have changed and how much is due to changes in the people and circumstances around me. A little of Column A and a little of Column B, I suppose.

New Year's is kind of like my birthday. I always expect to feel very different the next day. Older, wiser, hung over, something. And then I don't. Sure, when I say to myself "Hey, it's January 2005," it sounds weird. It's hard to believe that another year has gone by. And 2004 was certainly a very full year, full of every emotional imaginable. Hope, disappointment, longing, grief, joy, sorrow, delight, a few unmentionables. I put rose-colored glasses on, took them off, and then put them on again. And then took them off again. I wonder if I've actually learned anything.

This all sounds depressing, but it's not meant to be. Just my slightly incoherent ramblings, as I wonder if the start of the month of January is really any different than the start of February or March or any other month in the secular calendar.

Regardless, happy 2005 to you all. May it be a year filled only with joy, peace, and a world championship for my Cubbies.