A new year dawns. We sent the old one packing with a beautiful dinner at the home of some wonderful friends. Brandy Alexanders in honor of our ancestors, whose spirits were all around us. A chocolate soufflé in honor of our children, in whom our ancestors live on. Stories and observations about past, present, and future.

The chilly east side streets were ablaze with Christmas lights, some of which will be coming down now. We came back home around 10, and by the stroke of midnight, we were all fast asleep together in the kids' beds.

There was a time when I would ring out the old with a vengeance. Good riddance to all the bad things that had happened in the preceding 12 months. Smash those plates. On with the fresh start. But now I let go of the dying year a little more gently. The gift of time on this planet is great. I hold onto the old for just a second or two longer as it leaves us.

Now it's gone. The old calendars are suddenly scratch paper. All the tallies of 2007 are complete.

The days are getting ever so slightly longer. Portland's cold month is here. There's ice around once in a while now. The news is mostly frightening. Never has our world seemed so uncertain. It's a leap year again, an election year. What will it bring us?