Sad to see it go?

Well, Christmas came and went. It was very nice and stretched out to four full days of family togetherness. Two days were spend with my side of the fam, and the other two with E's. We have had family over every night since. We are SO exhausted. Part of the problem is that we never fully rested enough to recover from the flu bug that got us. Today we spent the whole morning laying around, and are trying to figure out if 9:00pm is a good bedtime for New Year's Eve.

Now the question of the day. Are you one who stays up to cherish every passing minute of the ending year? Or, are you one who wants to stay up to welcome in the brand new year? I grew up with a mom who was one to mourn the passing year (as her mother before her did.) She loves to reminisce about the good and the bad, the milestones that are passed, and the people that are now gone. Our annual "Christmas Eve drive around and look at the lights" drive is always punctuated with, "Oh there's Johnsons'. It's their first Christmas without their mom." and other similar sentiments.
This year I feel very excited about the year to come. I have my new budget sheets prepared. Clean slates ready for me to try and manage our money better. I have started going through the files and getting things ready for taxes. I am anxious to get the Christmas decor down and do a deep clean. I want to re-arrange all the furniture, and hang the pictures that have been leaning against the wall or hiding in the hall closet. I guess I am hoping this change in the calendar will be the motivation I am looking for. I'm really looking forward to a great year ahead.