Happy New Year

Well, here we are.  The end of one year, almost the beginning of the next.  This will be, lets see... somewhere around my twentieth or twenty-first year of existence on this planet (the old guy who, together with mom waits on me hand and foot, my companion for all but a few of those in between), and I'm thankful for the chance to live and be as healthy as I've been for this long.
     Though I won't admit it out loud I'm grateful for the brief time I got to spend with that little tyke, Grayson.  I'll quietly admit he wasn't really that annoying. 
     I've seen and heard a lot in my twenty-whatever-the-hell years here, and I'll be grateful for however many more I'm granted. I've learned to live with less, learned to slow down some (although I can't really imagine I ever did anything at a pace different than that of my current way) and breath deep and enjoy what I have.
     In the approaching new year I hold out great hope;  for the discovery of cures for diseases and pain that have caused suffering and death for too long; for more people to take a good, hard look at the way they live, what they have and what they really need; for loves lost and faltered relationships rekindled.  
     I have high hopes that a child I know of will change the way she feels enough to contact the parent she mistakenly believes doesn't know or love her.
     I hope that the great (and some not so great) minds in Washington can get their shit together and come up with a solution to the looming mess we'll all have to pay for. 
     I long to see a family I know (several, actually) learn to be more forgiving and come to the realization some day that life is way too short to be so selfish (good luck on THAT one).  
     I hope a bulldozing canine I know someday realizes that bullying is neither effective nor attractive, and that such corrosive behavior can haunt like a rolled newspaper if left unchecked. 
     I hope dad will be able to adjust his daily schedule so that he can sleep past 5 a.m. and stay awake at least a little later than six-thirty in the evening.  
     I hope mom will learn to give up her dependence on Diet Coke. She's working on it.  Really.
     I hope a cure will be discovered for a most common ailment- that of obsessive feline grooming- and its less than pleasant after effects.  
     In short (who am I kidding already?) I hold out lots of hopes- some beyond reach, I'm sure.    
     So anyway, Happy New Year.  I'm being forced to put this ridiculous f*cking picture in here for your amusement.  Certainly not mine.  Mom went and dressed me up for a card and made it look like I partied too much.  Whatever. May the coming year be good to you all...