It used to be so automatic: The ball would drop; they’d do the countdown and Guy Lombardo would play. Then— call my Dad, my Mom, her parents, grandmothers, brothers, a sister…all as friends waited their turns. In the days before cell phones we’d borrow house phones, and as couples stood over us, we’d cringe at the sound of a busy signal. That’s just the way it was.
The parents are gone now / the wife, too (via court order). The children, alas, are grown and married. So these days I call different numbers in different area codes. That’s just the way it is.
I’m sitting in a quiet office watching snow fall outside. And thinking.
If nothing else, New Years Eve is the heartfelt intersection of Love and Time.
Funny thing about love, (I tell my kids). It is without bounds. Indeed, G/d gave us the ability to love endlessly, with unlimited inventory. Just because I love you more doesn’t mean I love others less.
Mom died last April, but she always “got” that. My special connection, that special closeness I had with my dad….she understood. Happy for me—even in days of animus toward her ex she encouraged my bond with him). Yes, she GOT it.
So when the clock strikes 12 I’ll make my calls…to loved ones. You see, no matter where I am at midnight, no matter what I’m doing, be it happy or sad, tired or awake, my first thoughts will flow that way. On autopilot.
‘ Sharing this ‘cause just as we love without limit, this cowboy “gets” that our time is, itself… finite. It’s a lesson learned yearly through sadness and loss. None of us, even the most life-like, is here forever. Heck, one day my Dad woke up dead, and on another, our mom just wasn’t our Mom anymore.
That is why they urge “Seize the moment”— why they beckon to live each day as our last. And clearly ‘tis why I feel fulfilled when at day’s end, and indeed at year’s end, I can look back and know I valued G/d’s gift to me, of time. That alone, makes mine a very good year.
Not sure where I’ll be tonight. Plans are, (as they say) “Up In The Air.” That having been said, at midnight, trust me, I’ll be on my BlackBerry…..dialing New York, Chicago, Lyndhurst, Columbus—and being duly grateful for love….and time.
“One thing you can’t recycle is wasted time.”
Anon.
Happy new year B
Don’t forget University Heights
Same thing here, the New Year’s phone calls. Each year my brother and I would strategize to be the first to call our mom. He, her firstborn always won, but I found out he cheated as he called before the actual strike of midnight and stayed on the phone with her til 12…She is gone now and we both wished the contest was still on. Have a great year Bruce…Be happy, be healthy, be fulfilled, and be content…..