Farewell 2011

It's already December 31^st and I have no idea where all my good intentions went. It seems that at the end of something, call it a year, a relationship, a job, whatever, our purest intentions come out and we want to make new amends. This year started like any other in a constant routine that had been playing itself for several years now. However, fate, destiny, the universe, karma, whatever you want to call it, has a way of bringing us down to earth when we get too full of ourselves. Since September, I have stumbled, not looked for, on a slow and languid pace. Not at all what I expected my life to be at the end of this year, but I'm really quite enjoying it! After the hustle and bustle of the last few years, it's been quite nice to simply do... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

As I find myself standing at the checkout counter in the supermarket along with all the other people that like me forgot one last ingredient for their New Year’s Eve dinner, I notice that it is stacked with tiny green cans, each one enticingly labeled "the 12 grapes of luck." They're New Year's grapes, peeled and seedless. There is a Spanish tradition of downing one grape for every chime of the bells at midnight on "Noche Vieja" (New Year's Eve), 12 chimes, 12 grapes for luck. I have yet to complete this task of pop, chew and swallow 12 grapes before the last chime has sounded on New Year's. Every year I try it without any luck. It's not as easy as it sounds since I buy normal grapes.
Looking at the New Year ahead of us, I find myself aching for a fresh new start. And I can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, I need to accomplish the task of eating those 12 grapes before the last chime tonight. Farewell 2011, with all your good and bad experiences. Here’s to you 2012!