This first day of January has just drifted by. I haven't accomplished much of anything beyond a little after-party straightening and a walk with the puppies. Just reading about everything I did last New Year's Day makes me tired!
But I feel as if I'm drifting in a calm spot between two rapids in a river. We need days like that, don't we? Days where we just lean back in our inner tube, dangle our hands in the cold water, gaze at the sky above... where we progress so slowly, we have time to notice the details in the scenery along the shore...
Anyway...
How did you welcome 2012? Did you dress up and hit the town? Cuddle under a blanket watching the ball drop on television? Gather with friends in someone's kitchen?
Part of me loves the idea of dressing up all glittery and heading downtown with masses of people to celebrate the new year. The other part prefers to dress in jeans and spend the last bits of the old year and the first of the new surrounded by good friends in my own home, sipping red wine and cheap champagne.
That part of me is bigger and stronger than the first part, and that's why almost every year for the past 7 years, Tom and I have decided at the last minute to throw our own New Year's Eve party. (It might also be because we're never invited anywhere... but I try not to think about that!)
Yesterday my feet, aching after seven straight busy, busy hours at the Bistro, were grateful we made that decision again so they could spend part of the evening propped on the coffee table in their own living room, listening to live music, courtesy of Michael Clay and Jim Linton. They didn't even mind dancing a little.
I didn't begin the new year eating healthy or taking time to run like I did last year, but each day is a new beginning, right? A chance to do what you neglected to do the day before. A fresh page in your book. And the story is yours to write.
That's pretty sweet.
Here are some other sweet!s...
Saturday: a road trip with all three of your kids for the first time in years; singing Christmas carols; attending Christmas Eve Mass with your babies in the church where all three were baptized, two went to preschool and one celebrated his First Communion
Sunday: Christmas; waking in your parents' home on Christmas morning for the first time since you were 18; bacon, eggs, and biscuits with plum jam, made with love by your Daddy; your niece's peppermint cupcakes; the rain stopping for your drive home; watching old Dark Shadows episodes with your son
Monday: sleeping in; running on a country road under a brilliant blue December sky; surprising a family of Mallard ducks on a little pond (not so sweet - didn't get a photo!); finally starting your Christmas cards; watching your son cook dinner with his dad while you work at the computer
Tuesday: getting back to work on your book; clean windows; a text message letting you know your son is going to propose to the love of his life; a phone call letting you know your son proposed to the love of his life and she said YES!; your middle son packing up, preparing to move out into his own place again (bittersweet)
Wednesday: a warm jacket on a frosty morning; finally mailing your Christmas cards; an impromptu lesson from the postmaster on how to detect counterfeit bills; a paycheck waiting for you in the mailbox
Thursday: surprising the family of Mallard ducks on the little pond again - and getting a photo before they could fly away!; a donation in your tip jar; stopping in the aisles to visit with people you know at the grocery store
Friday: looking back on a busy day, feeling you accomplished a lot; a movie with your sweetie
Saturday: coming home late from work to a home all decorated for your New Year's Eve party, thanks to your daughter; welcoming the New Year with dear friends and live music in your own livingroom; two new photo shoot proposals
Sunday: starting the day with eggs, bacon and toast; a walk in the afternoon sunshine; listening to your daughter and her friend laugh about their New Year's Eve adventures
What were some of the sweetest moments of your week? Please share!
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A few more sweet!s from our "Welcome 2012" party...
~ smiles and laughter ~
~ dancing ~
Wishing tons of smiles, laughter, fun, and friendship for all of you in 2012!