A fresh start

Happy New Year!  Two down, three hundred and six three days to go.  What does 2012 have in store for us?

I’m not a bit sorry to see the back of 2011.  Even though I was wished a happy New Year on several occasions, it wasn’t a happy year at all.

In April I lost my job.  In August I lost my dad.  In December I lost one of my cats. 

I often wonder why people wish each other a happy New Year.  It’s never a happy year, is it?  Not when so much can go wrong.  People get sick, have accidents, or suffer losses, whether it’s family, friends, relationships, jobs, valuables or money.

Then again, for others 2012 will be a happy year.  They may start a relationship, find a job or hit the jackpot.  At the start of a new year everything seems possible and everyone has such high hopes.

There will be resolutions.  Plans to lose weight, exercise more, live healthier, go back to school, travel, write that novel or publish that manuscript.  January means a fresh start. 

With such good will at the start of something new, why do we wish each other a happy New Year and not a happy month, a happy week, or even a happy day?