The countdown to the New Year has begun and folks around here are excited about it. Are you?
I was thinking back over the New Years in my life (and there’s quite a lot!), searching for one that really stuck out in my mind. Some I can’t remember at all. Others are a faded memory at best. However, there’s one that holds on with stubborn resilience: the year my son was born.
The doctor said he would be a Christmas baby. But he didn’t come at Christmas. Or New Year’s.
I started that New Year’s Eve wondering if mine would be the first baby of the year. I had birth pains. Oh boy, did I have pains! By the time the clock turned over I was commanding that little bundle of discomfiture to come out and face the music! Oh! I was so stressed. But no matter my impatience, he took his time.
And I spent a very memorable New Year’s Eve counting down the minutes only to discover I had once again had a false alarm.
As Auld Lang Syne echoed through the airwaves, my darling boy snuggled in, contented in his nest. He finally arrived in February. Talk about miscalculated dates!
This year when the haunting strains of Auld Lang Syne echo across the hills and valleys I will be remembering that time, and many other happy times with friends and family. I’m sure you will, as well. It is in human nature to remember the “times gone by”, as the Scottish phrase is interpreted in our American English.
So, when they’re belting out the words to the traditional New Year’s song, go ahead and belt it out. It might even help to use the words, “times gone by” in the place of “auld lang syne.” Try it.
For auld lang syne, times gone by, my dear,
for auld lang syne, times gone by.
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne TIMES GONE BY!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!