Well, it’s over. We have survived another Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and day after Christmas sales.
Wrapping paper and boxes have been gathered up and disposed of. Decorations at our house will stay up until at least New Year's Eve, then be taken down and stowed away for another year.
The refrigerator is still filled with leftover odds and ends, which we will devour during the coming week. Soup sounds pretty good right about now.
The little ones in our life have been busy since Santa’s arrival with new toys, bikes, and scooters. The adults have been making plans for New Year's Eve and Day and many days thereafter.
A mandatory trip to the local stores will result in more storage units for the decorations added this year and the use of gift cards.
A new year always brings with it the promise of new possibilities, and whether or not you believe in resolutions, most of us make them in one fashion or another. I seem to be empty of new goals this year - content to continue working on current ones.
Nor am I excited about the coming year. Right now, I am just tired. I know I will get my second wind shortly and my mind will fill with what ifs… but I am allowing myself to rest in the meantime.
I don’t think some of my peers allow themselves to do much resting these days. We seem to think we have to be busy most of the time. When I was a child, I spent a lot of time daydreaming, and now I find myself remembering tidbits of long ago.
Things and people that happened along my way, pleasant or not, come flooding back unbidden. But I also find the unpleasant isn’t as painful or important as it once was. And the good times are still as good if not better than they were when they occurred.
And the good things are still happening. A dear friend of mine welcomed her first great-grandchild a few days before Christmas.
And one of my granddaughters received a proposal and ring Christmas Morning amid gift openings. Of course, a flurry of wedding plans are now in the offing and will take place this summer.
Both the bride and groom have been married before, so some time is needed to gather all the blended families from Washington, California, Arizona, and Montana together for the ceremony and celebration that will follow.
The reception will be held here at home, but the ceremonial location will have to be chosen. The bride’s sister is a pastry chef graduate of the Cordon Blu School of Cooking in Austin Tx., so the cake is taken care of.
No doubt the perfect dress will be found in plenty of time for any needed alterations and colors will be chosen for attendants and flowers.
We will just need a DJ (suggestions would be most welcome) and decorations. Then we will be set.
Before this wedding takes place, there will be birthdays, college graduations, and other celebrations to enjoy. There will undoubtedly be a few unhappy surprises as well, as household or car repairs may pop up. Our oven died Christmas Eve, so that is one surprise we already survived, thanks to neighboring ovens, smokers and BBQ grills.
It will be a good year. And, I hope, a good one for everyone else, too. We could all use some laughter, friendships, new adventures and good times. The 2020s have been hard on us all in one way or another, so we are due for happy surprises.
Like an election filled with honest candidates, achievable promises, and no drama…
Happy New Year Friends!
Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia. Contact her at kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.
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