Auld Lang Syne

"What does this song mean? For my whole life I don't know what this song means. I mean, 'Should old acquaintance be forgot.' Does that mean we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happen to forget them we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot them?"
"Well, maybe it just means that we should remember that we forgot them or something. Anyway, it's about old friends."
--When Harry Met Sally

I spent this New Year's down on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. (I had always wondered what the OBX stickers meant on cars.) It was an eclectic mix of friends old and new. Mostly new friends surrounded us at our beach house; playing games, dipping in the hot tub, and ringing in the New Year around a beach bonfire. But there were some very old friends indeed around that night as well--stars in a sky the darkest I've seen since my last observatory trip. In many ways, it blurred the old and the new for me. This past year has begun a career in the publishing industry, and relegated astronomy nearly to hobby status. It's brought me to new friends around the city, and I've let slip old friends around the country.

I've been thinking a lot lately about old friends, and the nature of old friendships. It can be so wonderful to have a friendship that lasts years and years. There are friendships that last because you make them last, and there are friendships that last just because. These are the kind that amaze me. Two friends can move to opposite ends of the Earth, come together only rarely, and still be close. Changes in life, workplace, and the rest just don't seem to matter. Not to these kinds of friends. It's a kind of security that knows no failure. I'm not exactly sure what it is about those kinds of friendships, but finding that kind of patience, happiness, and contentment is this year's resolution. (Last year's resolution)

Good luck, 2008. All your confetti is on the ground, and now you have to deal with the world as it is. You can.