Sunday, December 31, 2006

Here's To It...

New Year’s Eve. Tradition has one posting either a thoughtful retrospective on the past year or a hopeful prophecy for the next twelve months. Am I too tired, too strung out, to bow to tradition?

First of all, like almost all of us who have attained the half-century mark or more, I am once again flabbergasted at how quickly the year has whizzed by. Especially the second half—since we signed the papers to become genuine, bona-fide members of the ranks of small business owners. Silly me! I thought that coming out of "retirement" and becoming an entrepreneur would somehow impede the march of time. As if filling the days with the myriad responsibilities of the corporate executive would weigh them down sufficiently to slow them, at least a little.

In fact, the opposite has happened. July First was…yesterday. Or at best, last week. Even though I’ve spent more than the recommended percentage of the last 4416 hours awake, frazzled, running my butt off, stuffing my brain with facts and figures, pulling old, moldy management techniques out of my ass, polishing them off and trying to see if they still work (the jury is still out on that…) You would think all that…all that insanity would have put some drag on the rush of time. But no. If anything, all those things have slammed their considerable bulk against the back bumper of the year and sent it bolting past more quickly than ever.

There have been years—1995…1999… and maybe all the years between and a couple beyond—when the best I could say for a year was that I had survived. I survived. December 31 came along and I was still breathing; sometimes, it seemed, unmercifully. But this year…this year has been hard. A real test. A bona fide, in your face, do or die challenge. And I…HAVE…SURVIVED.

Not merely survived, but learned. And grown. And I’m not done yet.

This fifty-something matron, who as lately as twelve months ago, motivated by a sudden unnerving perception of her proximity to the great beyond, had embarked upon a search for spiritual reality… A superficial search that ended in frustration… This fifty-something matron can sit in her recliner, with circles under her eyes, feeling a bit like a helium balloon on the fourth or fifth day post-fill; defiantly typing in her New Years Eve 2006 blog entry: I’m not done yet.

Isn’t that a gift?

Happy New Year, my friends.

Lisa :-]

11 comments:

  1. Happy HAPPY New Year, Lisa ~ you are definitely not done yet, not by a long shot!
    http://searchthesea.blogspot.com/

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  2. A battle cry for us 50-somethings.  We can sit and watch the second half of our lives go by, or we can LIVE it!  I know you'll keep picking yourself up and dusting yourself off...you're a fighter....and a winner!

    Happy New Year!

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  3. It's a great and glorious gift!  Lisa, you've done so much more than just survive this year -- you've really lived it and grown.  I am just so tremendously proud of you and so proud to call you friend.  Happy New Year, to a great 2007!

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  4. Happy New Year! And the first six months are the worst (so they say!!) and you have survived! Looking forward to reading about your triumphs in 2007.

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  5. Happy New Year Lisa!!! Time marches on and so do we 50 something crones.  Gotta love us.  Rick and I are still planning on coming out to see your eatery.  But I don't have to tell you how time seems to fly!  Be well and Be Happy my friend.

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  6. I do wish you would stop tossing around words like 'matron' and 'half-century' when referring to yourself and women of our (approximate) age group.  It just makes me feel so...matronly.  How about 'hottie' and 'multi-decaded' ?  ;)

    Happy New Year, Lisa!  You know the best is yet to come...

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  7. Multi decaded. I like that. Pass the bubbly.

    Jackie

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  8. I think the more INTERESTING your life is the faster time goes by.  And your year has been interesting!  You'll have stories to tell for years to come.  

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  9. It is indeed a gift!  Happy New Year Lisa!   May time slow just a tad -- the better to experience it all --

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  10. You are living your life out loud...me too...it's a GOOD thing!  And one of these days, I may make it out to your eatery myself.  Here's to a terrific 2007!

    :)

    Judi

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  11. Happy New Year, Lisa.  Better late than never, eh?  I am so impressed that you actually had the time to figure out that 4416 hours have elapsed since July 1.  At least, I assume that's the case.  Math has never been my strong suit!  Best of luck to you in 2007, my friend.  You will make a go of your restaurant; I know you will.  P.S.  I rather like multi-decaded too!  Cheers!

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