Auld Lang Syne

theincredidad December 31, 2018 3 Comments

Parents, tonight when the ball drops and everyone is trying to sing the song they can’t remember the words to, replace those “Auld lang syne” lyrics with “days gone by”. You’ll be able to sing along with confidence knowing the song’s true meaning. And know that, when you refill your glass, you’re celebrating not the days (because they tend to stretch on far too long) but the year gone by (and don’t they feel shorter and shorter lately?)

You might even be tempted to make a resolution or two. “I’m going to tell Boy Wonder and Bex how much I love them more often.” “I’m not going to eat that entire pizza in one sitting.” “Yes, I am. I resolve to eat the whole damn thing.” Or maybe you’ll resolve to stop making resolutions. After all, you usually break them by January 2nd anyway. Me, I’m a “live for the moment” kind of guy. I don’t see any point in worrying about the future until it gets here. And the past . . . well, maybe tonight is a good time to reflect on the past year.

There was a time in my life when I was just coming out of that angsty, insecure, teenage phase where I stumbled into a moment of unabashed self-confidence. So, I  immediately fired off a text message to my mom. I started it with, “I’m actually pretty cool!” and I then I proceeded to list out all of my accomplishments that year. I think we were both pleasantly surprised with how long that text message wound up being. She saved it for a long time and whenever I was getting too hard on myself she would make me reread it. Forgive me, but there is another cool kid in town these days and I know I’ll need a list of accomplishments to shove in his face before too long. So why not start now? After all, he just gets cooler every day.

 

Boy Wonder’s 2018 Accomplishments

  • Learned to walk
  • Eats a cornucopia of solid foods
  • Floats on his back, by himself
  • Started talking.
  • Dribbles a soccer ball with serious control
  • Road Tripper and Airplane traveler.
  • Destinations visited this year included: Northern California, Western New York, Hollywood, San Diego, Las Vegas, & Disneyland
  • Made friends with Santa Claus
  • Goes down the slide by himself
  • Took a photo with the Batmobile

I know that he’s accomplished more than that but what an impressive start to the list! He did all of that in his first year on earth. Just imagine everything he’s about to do!

 

When Robert Burns wrote his famous poem in 1788, maybe he was thinking about his own children, certainly his loved ones. What parent wouldn’t be? I know all this years happy memories come flooding back when I think about the lyrics:

 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days gone by.
For days gone by, my dear,
For all the days gone by.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For all the days gone by
.
And surely youll buy your pint-jug!
And surely I’ll buy mine!
And we’ll take a cup of kindness yet
For all the days gone by.
For days gone by, my dear,
For all the days gone by.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For all the days gone by
We two have run about the hills
And pulled the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered manys the weary foot
Since the days gone by.
For days gone by, my dear,
For all the days gone by.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For all the days gone by
We two have paddled in the stream,
From morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
Since the days gone by.
For days gone by, my dear,
For all the days gone by.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For all the days gone by
And there’s a hand, my trusty friend!
And give us a hand of yours!
And we’ll take a deep draught of good-will
For the days gone by.

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