Although it was a day later than Santa Claus, the stork delivered the latest addition to my husband's clan. My sister-in-law gave birth to a healthy and handsome infant boy on December 26th. Needless to say, it was a much-anticipated arrival especially since he's the first grandchild for both sides of grandparents. He's also my only nephew here in the US.  Imagine my excitement  when Kenny called me at home to break the news. The next day, I got to visit the new baby and the proud but exhausted mom. We both marveled at how amazing it was to finally see their offspring. As much as I wanted to stick around to chat, I noticed that Tif was getting somnolent so I made my exit and promised to see them again as soon as they're able to accept visitors at home.

 We did see them again on New Year's eve. After having dinner with Tom and Mariah at Fogo de Chao, we all decided to welcome 2007 at Tif and Ted's place. They were indeed pleasantly surprised to see us. They opened a bottle of champagne and we waited as the countdown started on TV. Seconds later, we toasted to everybody's health, happiness and prosperity. We also offered our best wishes for the baby who was blissfully unaware of how momentous the occasion was. There's truly a lot to look forward to this year but there's also a lot of the past to remember and be thankful for.

 It was seven years ago when I first crossed paths with Tif, Ted and Tom. I just recently met Kenny on Christmas Day and days later, he invited me to a New Year's Eve soiree at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Chicago. My friends didn't have any plans that night due to the Y2K scare and Mariah (my roommate then) was out of town. Not exactly looking forward to a boring night by myself, I gladly accepted Kenny's invitation without much hesitation. Little did I know that my life will be turned upside down as we all greeted the new millenium at the stroke of midnight. I suppose the kiss had something to do with it. 'Nuff said.

Diffident as I was, I braved the introduction to Kenny's sister and friends. Although I told myself not to worry about making a good first impression, I didn't really need to anyway. I found them very engaging and welcoming, unfazed that a stranger sort of crashed into their little party of four. Let's not forget that they also introduced me to their cousin Eddie who was roaming around the hotel lobby garbed as  Elvis Presley in body hugging, sequined white outfit and with sideburns to match! How cool was that?   It definitely appealed to my twisted sense of humor.   I was in great company, I'd say.

 Although it was a short encounter, I went to bed that night feeling optimistic that these individuals were going to be in my life for the long haul. It might sound like I'm spouting some metaphysical gobbledygook but I truly felt like I was reborn and my existence was given a new lease in life. I was at a crossroad of my existence when I was questioning my purpose and future. I was poised for a change and meeting Kenny couldn't have come with a better timing. He was my Christmas gift and my New Year's eve date rolled into one . Of course, he became so much more.

Little did we know that our romantic coalition   will eventually lead to another coupling among our friends. Although Tom and Mariah had been initially introduced earlier on, they just started dating  each other about three years ago. I'm happy to blab that they got engaged last spring during our trip to Venice (it must be the canal water    ) and are planning to get married before the year is over (The pressure is on, you guys!). Things are coming full circle and I couldn't be any happier.

 Some people might argue that we all have the freewill to change the course of our lives and there's no such thing as fate or destiny. Well, I'd say the signs are there and our deep primal instincts just sort of nudge us towards certain directions. Sure, our choices might not always seem wise or circumspect, but somehow they will eventually lead us to the ultimate path and destination. A former English teacher of mine once imparted these sage words, " Whatever happens, it's always for the best." It was a bit tough to chew on as a teenager but as I went through life-altering experiences and gained insight from them, I have to agree. To illustrate, if I continued to desperately latch on to doomed relationships in the past, I would have missed the window that was opened to me while the door was shut. Once I relinquished my emotional baggage (most of it anyway), I met the right one for me at the right time.

Before I become overly sappy, philosophical and poignant, let me close this post with these words from Jean de La Fontaine. "A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it."