The Holiday Season

It does not seem quite real to me that we have now entered the year of 2007. Spending the holiday season away from home was a surreal experience. If someone had asked me a year ago what I thought I would likely be doing on Christmas Eve 2006, I certainly would not have known that I’d be hiking aimlessly through the rocky mountains of Okahandja and fearing attack from the nearby and somewhat violent baboon clan. As for Christmas dinner, I would never have guessed that I would be enjoying a braai (which is like a barbeque) in a riverbed during the middle of the summer season. Back in the States, I would have received well wishes on my birthday from the moment I rose out of bed but here, nobody knew it was my birthday until the afternoon rolled around; it’s the closest I’ve ever come to completely not celebrating the occasion (which for those who know me well, know its never been an affair I’ve much enjoyed making a big fanfare out of). So my birthday was largely uneventful, as it always has been (aside from that fateful day in 1983 when my presence first graced this earth) and which very much suites me. And as for New Years Eve, I certainly would not have anticipated that I would be celebrating the coming of 2007 many hours before my family in friends back in the states would.

I’m so accustomed to sleeping through that final countdown; I’ve never been much of a night owl. However, I know that 2007 will present many more challenges and rewards than most of my previous years on this earth have. So I certainly could not let the chance to celebrate all that is to come slip me by! I’m not entirely sure what this next year will hold; I suppose we never are but there are more uncertainties this year than I have grown accustomed to over the years. On the flip side of that though is the reality that this year holds greater promise of surprise and suspense. I’m anxious and slightly nervous to discover what 2007 holds for me.