A New Year With an Old Twist

Well, here we are only a few days from 2010.

It seems like only yesterday (okay 40 years has passed) that my second grade teacher had us write an essay about what life would be like when we reached 40 and what the year 2000 would bring. Back in 1969 none of us kids believed we would ever be 40 or beyond.

My stories were about what I would be doing--I wanted to be a photo-journalist or a soccer player. Well neither of those predictions came true, but that's okay. My life, although sprinkled with some difficult times, has been mostly what could have been expected. A few lost loves along the way, some trying times with friends and family, people coming, going and dying, and finally many good moments to remember.

When I was younger, in my twenties, New Years Eve was a big deal. We would go and celebrate with friends, drink too much, and always, always continue the traditions that were started by my family. It didn't matter where I was or who I was with, at midnight I would kiss whoever was next to me and then crunch down on creamed herring nestled on a saltine cracker--a ritual started by my Bohemian grandmother for good luck. Sometimes I had to bring my own...

Now that I am older things have changed. Midnight doesn't seem as important as it once did. The friends and family I once celebrated with are now gone, but not forgotten. Now I spend a relaxing night at home with my wife and son, wait around until 9:00 when they shoot off fireworks in the senior community behind my house, and am in bed long before it officially becomes the new year. However, I still kiss my wife and have some herring on a cracker for good luck, I just do it earlier.

I hope you all have some traditions that you keep going too...how about sharing them?

Since this blog is about acts of kindness, let's get to one. I wasn't looking for anything special to happen this week, most people are just too busy with themselves to even know others are still around. I was pleasantly surprised when I went onto facebook this morning and had an e-mail from a group I belong to "Get Your Blog Followers." It went on to say that I was a featured blogger this week and asked for the group to come by and read my last post about a past Christmas. Talk about being taken aback and humbled...

Thanks for the mention and the new followers that have been generated because of it. See even when you don't look for things to happen, sometimes they do. That is what I call a "genuine random act of kindness."

Look, a whole post without talking about my book...oops, I screwed that up. Well, if you like my stories here you should go to http://www.amazon.com/ and buy "Sensitivity 101 for the Heterosexual Male." Or at least go to http://www.philipnork.com/ and read the reviews it has been getting.

I hope all of you have a great New Year, stay safe and remember what goes around comes around. By being able to give a random act of kindness, you will get one back sometime in the future. Until next Monday...

Phil