The Hope of a New Year
I started thinking today about New Year’s Day, 1971; the last New Year Celebration before I became a mother and how everything has changed.
The hope of a New Year with a child filled me with expectations I can’t begin to describe here. I had been told I would never have children and surgery was already scheduled when I discovered I was pregnant.
There was nothing simple about my pregnancy or the delivery. It was filled with medical emergencies and warnings that I would not deliver a normal child.
The childbirth classes did nothing to prepare me for the realities of
that difficult delivery; or for the years ahead of me with not one but two sons.
Nothing prepared me for the gut-wrenching feeling I had when reading about a child who died in a car accident or who was shot on the way home from school.
Nothing prepared me for that first moment when a fall resulted in blood gushing from the forehead of the child I had sworn to protect.
Nothing prepared me for the first time my child came home and told me he had been hurt by another.
Nothing prepared me for the first time my child was in a public place and went to the bathroom by himself; worrying a child molester might be lurking in the bathroom.
Nothing prepared me for the bully in karate class or the horror of watching two teams racing toward my son when he finally realized his dream of being the goalie in the final hockey match of the season.
Nothing prepared me for the fist fights or the anguish of watching my son strike out in Little League or hit the mat too hard from a blow in karate class.
Nothing prepared me for the moment my son’s secured their first driver’s
license or returned home two hours later than curfew.
But you know what? All of these challenges were met.
I never lost Hope!
Each time my heart nearly broke in terror, I understood on a universal scale how deeply a human can love another. I learned how to be a calm, nurturing, and loving parent. I learned that no one has to carry on the legacy of abuse. I learned that each year on New Years, as I await the next birthday of those precious little boys who once lived in my home, that life is a miraculous thing.
This New Years instead of making resolutions, take the time to make a list of all the things in life that have blessed you beyond description this past year. New Year’s Eve is a time for planning and saying goodbye to those things that have caused you grief. It is a time to celebrate new goals and look back lovingly at what has been.
New Year’s is your opportunity for new beginnings, new experiences, and new joys. Make the most of it.
What have you been most grateful for in the past year? Please share in the comment section so we can all rejoice in your joy!
Author: Peggy McAloon
Be Safe…Be Loved…Pass It On!