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I'm not big on signs and such but...

Oh, wait. I'm a big ol' liar if I leave that in print.

Okay, okay. ... I am big on signs. Of all sorts. I admit it.

Think I'm silly, if you must. You won't think I'm all that silly, though, once you get a load of this.

The new year, 2016, is going to be my year. The signs say so. Two signs in a row, in fact, that things will soon be looking up for me, signs that 2016 will indeed be my year.

(Which would be awesome and appreciated and oh-so very welcome considering the <cussing> <cus> of a <cussing> year 99 percent of <cussing> 2015 was for me and my loved ones.)

The first sign came when my forever friend Debbie and I went to lunch last week. We've had lunch together at Chinese restaurants now and then for, sheesh, 20 years or so. (Can you remember, Debbie?) Last week we did so for the first time this year. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but a fortune from my fortune cookie that read:

Right!?

I thought that was a nice fortune. A good fortune I could certainly hope for. But I honestly didn't think of it as a sign.

Until, that is, I got another sign. Yesterday. A big sign. From an official source.

That source being Anderson Cooper.

Now, I don't participate in many of the memes on Facebook. But one featuring Anderson Cooper drew me in yesterday. I saw it on a friend's Facebook page and just had to do it.

So I clicked on the link, connected to my Facebook profile as directed... and was delighted by the result:

Glory halleluiah!

An absolutely fitting fortune for me. (Though it would have been more fitting if Anderson had said I won Publisher's Clearing House, considering all the times I've entered over the years.) Still, Anderson Cooper announcing my riches to come is a sure enough sign for me, one I won't ignore.

Especially considering the first sign - that I now realize was a sign.

In light of the signs - and despite it being early - I now officially bid you farewell, 2015! I forgive you for all the funk you foisted upon me and mine during the past 12 months. You're behind me as I now look straight ahead to 2016 and the signs it has already sent my way!

Signs pointing to 2016 - finally! - being my year.

For good things.

Of all sorts of sorts.

(I hope.)

Perhaps you should be on the lookout for signs 2016 will be your year, too!

If nothing else, go ahead and try that CNN Facebook meme just for the heck of it. Or order up some Chinese food including a fortune cookie. Neither one can hurt. And one or the other just might make your day.

If not your year. Cheers to 2016 being our year!

- Lisa Carpenter

Lisa Carpenter is a freelance writer and blogger specializing in topics related to grandparenting, the empty nest and the baby boomer lifestyle. She publishes the Grandma's Briefs website, stressing the vitality and relevance of today's grandmothers, and she writes regularly for the Huffington Post and PurpleClover.com. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.