Six Words - A New Year's Wish

For New Year's, we were invited to a dinner party at our friends' home in Sausalito.  Perched high on a hill, their house has a stunning view of the San Francisco bay and skyline.  As luck would have it, mid-way through the evening, the winter fog that had shrouded the city lifted, and we were blessed with a spectacular view of the skyline and Bay bridge.  We feasted on a 5 course dinner, and as we tucked into our cheese course the clock neared midnight. In typical fashion, the fickle bay weather suddenly decided to play a now-you-see-it-now-you-don't trick on us, and another wall of fog rolled in over the city, enveloping the twinkling lights of the Embarcadero, Nob Hill and the Presidio in a soup of inky black darkness. Undeterred, we lit off fireworks on the terrace as the clock struck midnight and toasted the New Year as we looked down on the more immediate and dependable lights of Sausalito.  

One of the party games we enjoyed during the evening was a request by our hostess, Giselle.  She had created a journal that cheerily greeted the year 2009 (I won't share what her words were regarding 2008).  We were then asked to come up with a six word "book" or phrase akin to Ernest Hemingway's legendary memoir that he was challenged to write in six words.  The idea is that the six words should sum up either your life, the year, or a personal wisdom you wished to share.  Not surprisingly, some of the phrases that were put forth touched on politics (A black President in our lifetime), the economy (the end of the American empire), and lighter pursuits (fish, fish, reel in, fish more).  

As for me, I came up with a list rather than a phrase that pretty much sums up life to me: Eat, Drink, Love, Laugh, Family, Friends.  With that, I wish all of you an abundance of these 6 words in 2009.