Hold on to someone you love

I said good-bye to 2008 with my family last night at Jess and Chris'. It was a very pleasant and quiet evening filled with talk, video games, movies and a glass of champagne. I cannot deny I missed someone though and I owe him a New Year's smooch still.

It's another brand-new year and who knows what is in store for us all.

I have high hopes for this year...for myself and for all the people I love. Last year had extreme ups and downs and felt, at times, surreal. This year will be filled with many more ups; at least, I hope it will.

When 1999 slipped into 2000 and the world couldn't stop Y2King, we had a quiet New Year's at my mom's. As the ball got mere seconds away from ending it's decent, Dick Clark said, noting the enormity of the moment, "Hold on to someone you love." Chris, Jess, my mom, me, Saffron and Alvin (our old German Shepard) all held on to each other in a human/canine chain and crossed into 2000 together.

Don't forget to hold on to those you love this year, my friends. If 2008 taught me one lesson, it is that love and life can be snatched away from you and you can be left to fill holes in yourself you didn't know could exist.

Love your life, your family and your friends. Be silly, work hard and sleep well. Be dead to nothing and feel everything there is to feel in your heart.

Hold on to someone you love.

Happy New Year.