They say that an optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. So it will be for many of us, tomorrow night when we bid a glad farewell to another year of The New Way of Living and welcome in the latest instalment — another chapter in the book of life.
We can never trust a new year — every new year is the direct descendant, isn’t it, of a long line of proven criminals? Ones that have let us down, having promised so much. In 2020, the year they named after hindsight, we had so much to anticipate, but it turned out to be the bleakest in generations.
What excites about a new year also has the scope to disappoint. The beauty of tomorrow is that we never know exactly what it brings. The tomorrows add a frisson to life that surpasses the staleness of what has happened in the past.
To be truthful, I approach this year with more hope than last, even though the case figures at time of going to press yesterday Wednesday stand at almost 17,000 with a positivity rate of 45 per cent.
The figures will probably continue to shock us for the coming weeks, but should plateau and taper downwards after that. Hopefully, we will have some relief from the vagaries of the variants after that.
It will be a space that is much needed. We need this space to allow to breathe a joy of life again. This time last year, we were caught up in the rush for the vaccines, as the winter took a terrible toll on many families. There was a bleakness inherent, and it was justified.
But 2022 has a nice ring to it.
On a local front, there is much to look forward to: On the sporting fields, next week, King Henry takes charge of a Galway senior hurling team for the first time: a coronation on the same day, that Tuam crowns its new Archbishop.
There is much optimism too on the camogie front that our elite seniors can go all the way again; that Galway WFC can fulfil the massive potential that exists there; that Galway United can get a good start and mount a strong promotion campaign from the off and not be playing catch-up as they were all last season; that Connacht continue their fine form.
Galway are slated to play Mayo in a mouthwatering Connacht football quarter-final — and there is a winter World Cup in Qatar which will while away those dark evenings next November and December.
We are hopeful too that the Galway scene will restore some of its lustre — that racing can get back to larger attendances at Ballybrit; that the Galway International Arts festival can take its rightful place in July; that we will be able to resume living, if not the same way we used to, but at least to a semblance of it.
But in order to get over the next few weeks, we need to heed the public health advice. To rise through the worst of the virus of the season, to enjoy the impending stretch in the evenings, the greening of the Spring.
Throughout the last two years, we have learned a lot about ourselves and each other; we have a newfound appreciation for what fulfils us; what matters and what does not. Maybe this year, in a less restricted life, we will get the chance to put some of those new learnings into practice.
Have a great 2022, folks. See you on the other side.
