While most of the world is excited for the fresh start that 2014 brings, I’m going to delay such excitement for another day.  Literally, my fresh start will start on January 2nd, 2014.  Why, you might ask?  2013 brought many great blessings and challenges and I’m thankful for every kiss and every scratch that life gave me this past year.  So it’s not that I’ll miss the past or feat the future… it’s much simpler than that. You see 2013 re-introduced me to an old friend.  I’ll take you on a brief journey.

It’s the summer of 1997 and I’ve reported to SUNY Geneseo for Cross Country practice.  The first weekend there I was excited and a bit nervous to meet my new teammates.  To that point in my life, aside from a few experimental drinks, I had never really investigated the world of alcoholic beverages.  After a week of hard practices, my teammates invited me to my first “track party” where I’d be introduced to the sweet nectar of the gods.  It was, for me, a life changing experience.  Needless to say I would go on to spend a lot of time with my new friend, the beer.  Our friendship proved to be a rough rode for the first five years or so.  You see, though my friend was nice to me at night, the next day he’d punish me with a raging headache and a lethargic body.  Over the years, we learned our boundaries and grew to establish a marriage of respect and love…until last night.

I’m 34 years old and I welcomed 2014 with some great friends and my beautiful family and, from the pages of my past, my old friend.  This morning, and throughout the day, I’ve continued to spend time with my friend in hopes that he’ll forgive my transgressions and allow us to return to the wonderful yet sparing relationship we’ve grown to love.

So, 2014 will need to wait until tomorrow when my stomach isn’t doing loops around my backside and the refrigerator light isn’t beckoning me like some lighthouse in the fog.  2014 will start tomorrow.