December 30: Drawing to a Close, Relief, Magic 8-Ball

Goodbye, 2013!

The year is drawing to a close, and I am so ready for 2013 to be over.

I spent the day getting ready for New Year's Eve.  I went to my parents' house and decorated for our annual New Year's Eve party.  It's something I've been doing since I was about 12 or 13 years old.  I got a little tired of sitting home and watching the crowds in Times Square on TV.  So, I created my own Times Square at home.  Tomorrow night, I will be playing games, eating way too much junk food, and counting down the seconds to midnight.

It's going to be a quiet party.  Just close family.  No friends or in-laws.  Last year, my best friend from New Zealand was in town.  It was a great party.  We played games until two or three o'clock in the morning.  There was joy and expectation and hope.  This year, with the four or five people who will actually still be awake at midnight, I will experience a different emotion:  relief.

Which brings me to my final Magic 8-Ball question for this year of The Catcher in the Rye:

Will 2014 be a better year for me and my family?

And the final answer from Holden Caulfield is:

I went around the room, very quiet and all, looking at stuff for a while.  I felt swell, for a change.  I didn't even feel like I was getting pneumonia or anything any more.  I just felt good, for a change...

Well, that's encouraging.  Things in 2014 are going to be swell, good.  A change is on the way.

Can Saint Marty get an "amen"?