MMXI

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and days of auld lang syne?"

-Robert Burns

I have spent the last month telling my friends and acquaintances that I would not miss 2010. The year started poorly, to say the least, and that coloured, in one way or another, every moment.

I believed, firmly, that this was true: I would not miss 2010.

But, as I sit, and write, Gentle Reader, on this, the first day of the new year, I am not so sure. Yes, there were events in my life this past year that bordered on the unbearable. And yes, that fact touched every other aspect of my life.

But there were good times.  Moments of sublime beauty, moments of shared happiness, moments of profound joy, and moments of realization, of enlightenment. There were moments that I would not give up, not for anything, not under the threat of pain a thousand times worse than I have ever known.

There have been moments, Gentle Reader, in 2010, that I shall remember fondly for the rest of my natural life.

Will I miss it? Perhaps not. But I wouldn't do it over again, differently. Still, I am glad to see you, 2011.

Happy New Year.