Finally. The last day of another year almost gone. With the most bitter cold I can remember since childhood, I made absolutely no plans to go out or do anything.

It felt a little strange, as it’s always been a night where I felt like I needed to be doing something. When I was a kid, we’d go over to visit family, or to a New Year’s Eve party in town.

When I got older, there was always a bar, or a house party, or something. Always a night where the dancing was, or the drinking was, or laughter and games.

As a parent though, my views on the night have changed. It still feels like a turning point, an event, but in a more introspective way.

It’s less about going and doing, seeing, or an event. It’s now about how did my year go. What am I happy about, what could have gone better, what do I want for next year.

So now, with a few hours left in another year that went by far too fast, I look back at the year with a smile.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a big year. A new clinic, new friends, a life goal achieved, then surpassed.

We lost some wonderful people this year, gained a few more. The world somehow has kept spinning even with the same horrors that still plague the human race.

I think Robbie Burns said it best in the song sung around the world tonight. And so, I’ll raise my glass to all of you, and take a cup of kindness yet.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2018. I can’t wait to see what it brings.