Yesterday & Today

I was on the YMCA treadmill this morning, back to the grind after five days of lounging around a cabin in the Poconos eating Christmas cookies (pictures to follow). As I hit the home stretch, the iPod shuffled up Murs' "Yesterday & Today" and it captured a few days' worth of emotion for me in the first 1:25. Today was my first day back to work after the holidays—long overdue days off spent with the family, doing nothing but enjoying being with them and trying to soak up enough of it to get me through the next stretch without them—and in comes Murs:

I ain't getting out of bed today
Nine to five to survive, there's gotta be a better way
Waking up early to punch in the clock
How I look, a grown man with my lunch in a box
But my kids need socks and shoes, I'm walking through...

Those first few bars, summing up the Sunday night/end of vacation feelings, and the 9th Wonder beat were enough to cover me in a fresh coat of goosebumps as my shoes started thudding as they caught the front of the treadmill. I pushed those tiny iPod earbuds as hard as the treadmill was pushing me. On top of that, it's the new year now and while I'm not big on resolutions, I never miss an opportunity to reflect on where I've been and think about where I'd like to be going and how. You can imagine my reaction to the chorus:

(Yesterday I) Felt the most hated
I thought I couldn't take it, I fought until I made it
(And today I'm) Feelin' brand new
I got nothin' to lose, get out my way, move

I started to think about the coming year: people are getting married, babies are being born, things are in motion. Change is coming and I am ready to embrace it, not in the sense of replacing what I already have but rather building on it for an even better future. I am filled with hope for this new year, for myself, my family and the world around me. Happy new year, everybody, let's make it a good one.