New Year's Eve...to the 3rd Power!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Photo By: Kazuend
We're officially 4 days into 2017! I hope the New Year has been treating you well so far.
This is the first post of the New Year and the first post since November. (We took the last month and a half of 2016 to adjust to a new schedule, focus on family time, complete end of year projects, rest, and get organized for 2017.)
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I can vividly remember being a tween and all the commotion surrounding the Year 2000. (Remember the Y2K bug?) 2017 was not a thought in my mind at that time, and I bet it wasn't on your mind either! But to be honest, even last year, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around 2017—'what is that?' And yet here I am.
Here you are.
At Findlay House we've been enjoying + recovering from New Year Cubed—that is New Year by New Year by New Year. Or. New Year's Eve...to the 3rd Power! The last 3 months of every year are jam-packed with days of celebration for us! And if I include the month of January, then in the last 4 months Danny and I have celebrated 3 different New Years—personal new years, a marital new year, and of course the calendar new year.
As is customary (I've been using that word a lot lately) the New Year celebration usually takes place on the eve of day 1 of the new year (think: New Year's Eve). Its usually a joyous reflection that we completed another year, that was true for all the New Years we celebrated.
New Year's Eve #1 - Birthdays (Personal)
Before we embark on a personal new year of life, we usually pause to recognize the completion of another year by celebrating our birthdays.
My birthday is October 23rd. And Danny is a Christmas baby. Our birthdays always fall on the same day of the week, and this year the day was Sunday. We kicked both our birthdays off with attending church. I think it's cool that we were literally able to focus on giving God thanks for completing another year of life because we were in church.
Our birthdays looked very different.
On my birthday it was just the two of us. After service, we ate lunch. (I had a chimichanga - a major fav!) Later, Danny made me jerk shrimp - it was so SO good!!
For his birthday we had a mini family reunion in Winter Haven, Florida. It was 13 of us! Mom, Aunt, nieces, nephews, and three of his four sisters - we had a blast!
It also included a nice Christmas dinner spread that included all his favs - oxtail, rice and peas, escovitch fish, and more!
New Year's Eve #2 - Wedding Anniversary (Marital)
In between my birthday and Danny's birthday is a day most dear to us, our wedding anniversary!! November 1, 2016, marked our second wedding anniversary.
It was a BIG deal!! For so many reasons - but mainly because GOD blessed us unexpectedly, after months of waiting and trusting Him to act.
We didn't share any sappy posts to social media, I didn't even blog about it, but that didn't make it any less special.
We shared sweet and sincere words of commitment to each other, and our commitment to the journey ahead. We both eagerly worked through a grueling work day. (Danny's day was definitely more grueling, but a blessing nonetheless.)
We ended the completion of our second year by finding the strength (after a long, tiring day) to get dressed up and go out for dinner. It was a good day.
New Year's Eve #3 - December 31st (Calendar)
Usually Danny and I find ourselves in church on New Year's Eve, but this year was different. Our church didn't have service and we were invited by a cousin to hang for the night. There wasn't a lot of fanfare, just family gathered together.
Although, there were no fireworks, and no shouts of Hallelujah or Thank you Jesus; one thing that wasn't missing was the deeply seated gratitude that we lived to see the last day of another calendar year, and that we made it to January 1, 2017 once the clock struck 12 midnight. (I also got my New Year's kiss! :blushes:)
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With each New Year—whether personal, marital, or calendar—there are new experiences and often lessons to be learned. I'm so thankful for the lessons I've learned so far, and the ones I'm in the process of committing to memory.
In general, new years are a big deal because they represent fresh starts, but we don't have to wait for a birthday, anniversary, or new calendar year to start over or start again.
New mercies are available every morning.
Every moment is a milestone.
Every breath is a gift.
Let's continue to be excited and filled with gratitude as we look towards all the challenges and triumphs 2017 holds, knowing we can handle everything that comes our way.
Loving you,
-CF