Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year! The early minutes of January 1st, 2008 found me huddled among the throngs of spectators in Embarcadero, San Francisco watching the fireworks. My pictures do them no justice. There wasn’t much of a countdown in the minutes leading up to the spectacular event. I had secured my spot a couple of hours before…a couple of hours trying to keep warm. I was well dressed too – sweater, coat, gloves, hat, thick socks. I guess just the sight of the young girls in mini skirts and stilettos made me feel cold for them!

New Year’s Eve is often about new resolutions and new hope. I have no new resolutions. I don’t think that should be a problem. If I did, it would likely resemble everybody else’s – something about “lose weight”, or “save money” or some other lofty goal which would soon be broken even before the first week was over.
Nope, no New Year resolution for me. 2007 was a pretty good year for me. I spent two months in Ghana and got to meet new family, old family, and made a few friends. I completed my residency and passed the Internal Medicine boards. I started my fellowship in Infectious Diseases, which although has been arduous, is what I’ve always wanted to do. I think that’s pretty neat.

2007 was also a spectacular year for my sisters’ who completed business and law schools and got JOBS!!! I think it was a good year for Mama because she was able to go home to visit her mother and family.

Unfortunately, (November) 2007 will also be the year that Mama’s mother died. It was unexpected, as she looked so good when we saw her earlier in the year. I admit, I expected her to be around to see several great-grandchildren from all sides. After all, her mother, my great grand-mother, didn’t pass away until I was in college, so her death, even though she was in her 80s, was premature in our eyes.

I still maintain grandmother’s death would have been worse if Mama hadn’t had the chance to visit her earlier in the year. That was a reunion fourteen years in the making. I’m sure Mama would beg to differ. I’m sure she would have a whole list of reasons why 2007 didn’t treat her right, and I’m sure her list of resolutions for the New Year is as long as I am tall.
But that’s okay. I have a good feeling about 2008 for. It’s an even year for starters. I love even years. Even better, it is a leap year. Being born in the month of February, though not on the 29th, makes me feel like Leap Years are that more special. Unfortunately, I was born in an odd year and will turn an odd age this year so I guess I can’t have it my way all the time.

But really, nothing has changed. Calls for world peace have been ignored just like any other day. We’ve hardly gone 24 hours in the new year and a suicide bomber has killed 30 people in Baghdad. 30 people, many of whom were children, were killed in a church fire secondary to post-poll violence in Kenya. 13 people were killed by gunmen in an oil city in Nigeria. A US diplomat was killed in Sudan and the Palestinians and Israelis are still at it in the Gaza strip! sigh

Happy New Year!!!!