New year, New journal, and Saying Good-bye

Happy New Year!

NEW JOURNAL

Today, I move all of my well-prayed over resolutions (read that Goals) for the New Year into a New Journal. I move my patriarchal blessing over, create a cover for my journal, (some years very elaborate, others really simple) and transfer over a few sections that I am currently writing in on various topics as well as some pages of notes on studies that I'm into. It always amazes me that I didn't write as much as I set out to write. But, this past year I guess I did pretty well. I don't write every day, and quite frankly, I sometimes don't even write about those really special spiritual experiences that occurred like I should. It's very cathartic to set that old Journal that says 2011 on the shelf besides the other previous years in the bookcase. I probably won't look at it for awhile. I'll be concentrating on my NEW JOURNAL for 2012.
But Hey, it's a New Year. A New Beginning and I can have good intentions, set goals and begin anew!!!! Yippee!!
On the way to church today, my husband said to me, "I think God likes New Years." I said what do you mean? He replied, "Well, I think he knew mankind needed the markers of days, months, and years to help us learn to keep perspective. You know, set goals, and try to achieve them in some sort of time context."
I pondered that and now I think I realize that since God isn't on the same time continuum as we are, (all things are present before Him) it may very well be helpful to Him, too, as well as to us to have a New Year. We remember birthdays, anniversaries and special holiday dates so that we can mark our progress in mortality. What better than a New Year? Every culture and every calendar has their own celebrations for the beginning of a New Year. The Chinese New Year comes on January 23, 2012, The Year of the Dragon,  and has it's own traditions to celebrate. The Hebrew calendar of course, also has it's New Year celebration, Rosh HaShanah, which was celebrated on September 29-30, 2011 and ushered in the year 5772.

What do I do on New Year's Day? 

I remember my Grandmother who was born on this day in 1889.
I start a new journal with new goals.
And I have one other tradition...you might call it a family tradition: I watch the Rose Parade from wherever I happen to be living. Tomorrow I will tell you about this family tradition in more detail.

Well, the rug was pulled from under me today. One of my traditions, since childhood growing up in Pasadena, CA was to watch the Tournament of Roses Parade, but this year because the January 1st fell on Sunday, the parade will be tomorrow. That is really good, as far as I'm concerned because now I can spend this day, not in the world of flowers, bands, horses and floats with copious commercial breaks, but instead spend it reading the scriptures, praying over which family in my genealogy that I'd like to research and send to the temple, AND rest. My husband and I have both been under the weather for a couple months and today was the first time (our ward's new hour for starting Sunday meetings is now eleven a.m instead of nine a.m.) we both attended together, each with our walker, and stayed for the entire three meeting block. Friends greeted us and were so pleased to see us, that it filled our hearts with joy.

Saying Good-bye

You ask, what on earth do you mean, you just started writing this blog  you can't say good-bye!
No, No, I mean good-bye to the old year, the old bad habits that were conquered, and good bye to the twenty five pounds that I successfully lost. Things like that.
But there are some sad good-byes, too,  like people I admired who died this past year, experiences that I may not have again (like traveling to Pasadena, CA cause I just can't sit that long, and the car won't make it there in one piece), also the peace of mind knowing that my husband's health is still good. It's not, and probably this will be a permanent thing since he is 81 and has prostate  cancer that has metastasized to his spine. So Good-byes are an integral part of remembering.