Diversity is the spice of life. Or so I'm told. This morning, while sitting underneath the golden arches I am having a cup of (suspense)----coffee. Yes, coffee. For all who know me, know that my drink of choice is hot chocolate. Today, however is just a break from the norm. I have not been abducted and switched with an alien counterpart or kidnapped and had an evil twin assume my identity.
In this post I would like to introduce you to an old friend named N.Y. No, not New York. He is called n.y. because he has a name that his parents gave him and it is easier to defend in its shorter acronym. I have known n.y. for about 23-25 years. While growing up in Chicago I had known of n.y. for years before meeting him, but did not really get to know him until my junior year of high school.
As with most of us, during this time of year with the holidays and all, we think about and run into friends of old. Some time has passed or we hear from so and so about certain individuals. Well, this happened with ( N.Y.) N.Y is a sort of drifter and really has no roots of his own. One look at him and you will automatically assume he has been around forever. (Which he probably has, or close to it).
Our relationship is an odd one to say the least. We see each other and we make all these great plans and what we will do together and the like. For days and weeks on end we are practically joined at the hip. Then something happens and we slowly drift apart and soon lose contact with one another almost always until the holidays roll around near the end of the year. Someone reading this is wondering, why? and what happened? Life reinserts itself and reality sets in. Our obligations become obligations anew. Work, families, other interests, you name it. There are no fights or disagreements that cause up to go our separate ways. It just seems to happen. Truthfully, time apart is good for the both of us. We get to experience life from a different perspective and our energies are renewed.
Many of us have a friend(s) like N.Y. in our lives. Someone we often think about and try to reconnect with. Someone who has had a profound effect on us in one way or another (hopefully for the better) and we clamor for their attention when we do see them again. Hmm, strange indeed.
I see a group of older Americans sitting near me in McD and they are talking of times past and laughing and conversing about 'old friends'. (It startles me how one and all of them can remember the names of each and everyone that joins the growing circle.) Many of which center on the grand kids and their wish list for Christmas or their latest antics or sayings. What a wonderful time it is. Those days are not to far off for me and most of us. We may even be doing it now.
Life passes by and sometimes what we have now is not as good as what we had before. The music, the friendships, families and even our jobs. A small amount of freedom has been lost because we now have others depending on us, kids, spouses, elderly parents, etc. Remembrance is good and it does a heart well to rediscover our former years, but lets not forget 'the present'. This is the problem Al Bundy had in "Married with Children", he was continually stuck in the past. Although this is the ideal time to see and reconnect with family and friends, to catch the latest pictures and hear the current events, I don't cherish it because of personal reasons. Nevertheless. As for me, well, I still have N.Y. and he will pop us soon enough. He always does. I could set my clocks by him. What will we do or plan to do with the end of 2011 coming fast and 2012 right on its heels? I don't know and I don't care. For once I will just take it one day at a time. God says in the bible "We are not to worry about tomorrow. Today has enough troubles of its own, tomorrow will take care of itself." As always HE is right.
One that note I would like to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
If one truly wishes to delve into the past, think back to 2,000+ years ago and the death of Jesus on the cross for the sins of the world. When you hear the 'Christmas story' from Luke chapter 2 this coming Sunday think about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. Our greatest gift has already been given to us. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Jesus may not be your Lord now, but if you accept this free gift from God then you to can inherit eternal life.
Before I close this entry let me tell you what N.Y. stands for---New Year.
Pretty obvious, huh? This refers to all the resolutions we will be making and for sometime into the new year we will keep them. And as with me and mine, you will drift apart from the ones you make and soon forget them. This coming year, don't plan for anything to 'keep to'. Take it one day at a time and enjoy life. Just like old friends we will remember them.
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