These days in between Christmas and New Year feel like that somewhat sombre few hours right after all your guests have left a party at your house.  Weeks of excited anticipation and frantic preparation culminated in a lovely evening of celebrations with some of your nearest and dearest… but before you even had time to pour yourself a drink, time jumped forward a few hours and now your guests are gone, back to where they live, some place far away, and all you’re left with is the odd half-eaten sausage roll to sweep up from the floor and red wine stain to tackle from the carpet.  When just a few hours ago, the desk was vibrating below a speaker blaring out ’90s tunes and the room was full of laughter and chatter, you are now left with a silence which taunts you loudly: “Party has finished! Get back to work!”

And this is the feeling that seems to define these December days.  The festive spirit had engulfed us over the past month, sending it’s magic through the streets.  The Christmas shopping on grid-locked high-streets may have left us in strong need of a caffeine pick-me-up at times, but overall the season of goodwill was exactly that:  a wonderful few weeks which were all about loving, giving and being able to eat a million mince pies without feeling guilty for it.  A few days ago I was receiving Christmas cards in the post.  Today, I was receiving a P45 from an old employer and the usual friendly letter from the Student Loans Company reminding me that I owe them several thousand pounds.  Hi ho, back to a life pre-destined by paperwork we go!

Though wait, despair not, an encore appears on the horizon!  New Year’s – one final frolic before we really have to get back to down to it, but it’s not just about having a party and blowing your loudest *PHEEEEP* through a party-whistle whilst singing Auld Lang Syne.  It’s more than that.  To me, New Years is about both celebrating the good that has come from the past 12 months, and thinking about all of those things that we could have done better.  It’s an opportunity to plan out what our aims and dreams are for the year ahead.  2011 wasn’t a bad year for me, but it wasn’t the best either, and I’m hoping that the lessons learned from it can help me make  the year 2012 a whole lot better than it’s predecessor.

This is a time of year for celebration and positivity – for new starts, new challenges and a new you – stronger now from the things you’ve achieved or any problems you’ve overcome in your previous year.

And so it is with this entry I would like to wish all my family and friends a wonderful New Year.  2012.  The number alone sounds nicer and is less awkward to say than, “two-thousand and eleven” (*breathe*), and  I hope the year itself reflects that way for all whom are reading this.  Let’s hope 2012 can be a good one for us all.

Song of the Day:  Jukebox the Ghost – Good Day

An incredibly happy sounding song about… a good day, from Philadelphia talents Jukebox the Ghost.  Chorus includes bonus tongue-twister.  Did everybody say what a good day that it was for everybody who said what a good day that it was?