New Year's Eve Thoughts

For many of us New Year's Eve is a special time of the year;

It's a special time to reminisce about happy events and special moments that have been a large part of creating the elements and structure of our lives during the past year. A time to reflect on the mistakes, and wrong turns of the past year but also a time to plan new strategies, rectify wrongs and begin to rebuild relationships or begin new ones.
It's also a time to remember those special people in our lives that have left before us such as a grandparent, friend or others who were an important part of our lives and while we will miss them, we can know that they have gone to a better place and that we will see them again one day.
It's a time to think of lost loves, broken relationships, forgotten friends and to chart a course of action to heal, mend and to set goals to restore them. It's also time to begin new friendships and relationships in the coming new year.
As the midnight hour draws closer and closer with the ticking of the clock, each passing minute reminds us the we are drawing nearer to a time of new beginnings, new friends, new goals, new ventures and new experiences. While we may think of the mistakes we have made during the past year and vow not to travel that road again but instead march into the new year, more determined than ever to make all things better.
Now, as we are at the last few minutes of this one of a kind year, let us be truly grateful that we are still here; happy, healthy and ready to march on into this wonderful new year armed with the knowledge and experience gained from the year that is quickly coming to an end and with the determination to make the world, our world a better place.

" In both the Gregorian calendar, currently used in the United States, and the Julian calendar, which was used until 1752 in the British colonies, the last day of the year is December 31. In Europe, the mid-winter period was traditionally associated with feasting and parties. In the early years of the American colonies and within the United States, this type of celebration was often frowned upon, particularly by religious communities.
Around the start of the 1900s, New Year's Eve celebrations in America started to appear. The first Ball drop in Times Square was held in 1907. Around the same time, special events to welcome the New Year started to be organized on January 1."