random thoughts – Day 1,384 – (Sunday) – New Year's Eve

The end of 2023 is wrapping up on brand with the same “What day is this?” that has dominated a few too many days in the past few years. Ever since 2020, time seems to have taken on a mushy quality where the days seem to blur together. No one day stands out from any other and it's a good thing there are phones with the date and time to help keep people straight. Or maybe it's just me. Too many days, it feels like time is pressing down and I’m trying to swim to the surface from the bottom of a lake. And I’m not a great swimmer, so that makes it all feel a bit too much extra.

Recently, I overheard two people talking in a store. One said to the other, “I know you’ve had a rough year, but 2024 should be better. You know you do better in even years.”

I hope that is the case that 2024 will be a better year, not just for the person in the store, but for all of us. It’s not that 2023 was horrible, it just wasn’t very good for a lot of people. Not necessarily catastrophic illness awful, but like a long-term lingering low-grade fever with annoying side effects. 

Here’s hoping that the celebrations, noise makers, bonfires, and fireworks and even (especially!) the quiet moments of New Year’s Eve can help us shake off the dust of 2023 and welcome a fresh, new 2024.