Dear 2018

Dear 2018,

We’re ready for you.

We changed the sheets, fluffed up the down comforter and left a mint on the pillow and a lavender difffuser on the bed stand for you.

You’re going to be busy, 2018, and we want you relaxed and well rested.

We’re expecting a lot from you, but we’re willing to do what we can to help you along. We’ve learned a thing or two from your predecessor and I think you’ll find us more accommodating hosts.

Bring on your innovation and your global technology revolution. We’ll be ready with our gratitude and willingness to learn.

Your medical advancements alone will make it a banner year. We can’t wait to see what you have in store for us with advances in gene therapy, ultra sound therapy, surgical robots, vocal biomarkers, 3D printing and all sorts of other miraculous inventions we can’t wrap our brains around.

Open-sourced food production and other sustainable agricultural systems could make you a breakthrough year for nutrition that transcends geographic, cultural and economic challenges.

We’re going to have fun together on the social front, too.

You’re rolling out a royal wedding and we plan to toast some scones and follow along in real time. You’re also hosting a winter Olympics, which will be nerve wracking but cool. So, we’ll whip up some bibambap (minus the egg for me) and watch that too.

Mostly, though, we’re eager for the optimism we know you’ll bring. We have ripped off some bandages and we’re ready to start healing. Thanks to 2017, we understand boundaries and bad behavior.

We know how to stand up for ourselves and each other, and we recognize that celebrity is a status and not an excuse.

We want you to be the Year of Empathy, the cusp of an international movement toward kindness and peace. It’s a lot to lay on a brand new year, but I think you’re up to it.

Welcome to the world, 2018. Now, let’s go get ’em.