Year's end
The year is coming to its end in a few minutes. We are at home now, so I guess that means we are officially in the ranks of old fuddy-duddies. It's actually not the first time that we have not been out. Last year we were home from our Christmas trip to Utah before New Years, but we came off the plane sick and I don't think we were up to worrying about celebrating. The year before we were enjoying a visit with close friends out of town. Sometimes we have just not had a plan.
This year has seen a lot of blessings and challenges; I don't know that there has ever been a year without plenty of both, that's the nature of life. The question is, are you still aware of your blessings or are you only seeing your griefs? I have done better than some years, I hope, at seeing my blessings. I want to recognize the hand of God in my life.
In January I started this blog, and because of it I was offered the opportunity to write for the new online journal, the Nauvoo Times. I am grateful for the experiences of doing both, and for the chance to put a voice to the things that matter to me and the tutoring processes that God has given to me. That makes this a significant year, the year I started writing in earnest.
We didn't let the last night of the year go without any celebration. A couple in the ward started a tradition of holding a "New York New Year" dinner party. The core is the high priests group from the ward, but they include a few other friends too. Everyone brings something, they have wonderful food choices, and they run a live cable feed from Times Square, muted until 'midnight' nears. Midnight in New York, that is--which is only 9:00 here on the west coast. That way, if you want to go home by 9:30, the designated end of the party, you can. If you want to go somewhere else after, you can. We brought fruit salad and arrived an hour early without meaning to, because there was no reminder announcement at church (the hosting couple weren't there) and Hubby had told me the wrong time. We were made very welcome and had an extra visit (while they did final food prep), which we were repeatedly assured was lovely. (If I had been the hostess, I would not have been dressed yet or ready to deal with surprise visitors, but this lady is always very together, and they were having fun with the evening.)
Our stake rented the main YMCA for tonight, from 8 to midnight, with staff, for a family New Year's party, and it was our intent to go for a while after the dinner party, but on our way home, we decided not to. I had done my water exercise today already, he had gone swimming, and we did not want more food. Food would have been chips, finger veggies, sub sandwiches; the pools were open, the track, climbing wall; and the gymn had a dance going. I didn't feel up to dancing, I was feeling a little tired. Hubby is fighting the end of a cold, and we just decided that we didn't need to be out on the road on a very cold night. We had already had a lovely time and it was okay to be done.
So if that makes us old fuddy-duddies, that's okay. Maybe we'll be wild and crazy next year.
This year has seen a lot of blessings and challenges; I don't know that there has ever been a year without plenty of both, that's the nature of life. The question is, are you still aware of your blessings or are you only seeing your griefs? I have done better than some years, I hope, at seeing my blessings. I want to recognize the hand of God in my life.
In January I started this blog, and because of it I was offered the opportunity to write for the new online journal, the Nauvoo Times. I am grateful for the experiences of doing both, and for the chance to put a voice to the things that matter to me and the tutoring processes that God has given to me. That makes this a significant year, the year I started writing in earnest.
We didn't let the last night of the year go without any celebration. A couple in the ward started a tradition of holding a "New York New Year" dinner party. The core is the high priests group from the ward, but they include a few other friends too. Everyone brings something, they have wonderful food choices, and they run a live cable feed from Times Square, muted until 'midnight' nears. Midnight in New York, that is--which is only 9:00 here on the west coast. That way, if you want to go home by 9:30, the designated end of the party, you can. If you want to go somewhere else after, you can. We brought fruit salad and arrived an hour early without meaning to, because there was no reminder announcement at church (the hosting couple weren't there) and Hubby had told me the wrong time. We were made very welcome and had an extra visit (while they did final food prep), which we were repeatedly assured was lovely. (If I had been the hostess, I would not have been dressed yet or ready to deal with surprise visitors, but this lady is always very together, and they were having fun with the evening.)
Our stake rented the main YMCA for tonight, from 8 to midnight, with staff, for a family New Year's party, and it was our intent to go for a while after the dinner party, but on our way home, we decided not to. I had done my water exercise today already, he had gone swimming, and we did not want more food. Food would have been chips, finger veggies, sub sandwiches; the pools were open, the track, climbing wall; and the gymn had a dance going. I didn't feel up to dancing, I was feeling a little tired. Hubby is fighting the end of a cold, and we just decided that we didn't need to be out on the road on a very cold night. We had already had a lovely time and it was okay to be done.
So if that makes us old fuddy-duddies, that's okay. Maybe we'll be wild and crazy next year.
If staying home on New Year's Eve makes one a fuddy-duddy, then I guess I'm the ultimate F D! I said Happy New Year at 9 pm (midnight, NY time, and went to bed. Slept well. And a Happy New Year to you and your family!
ReplyDeleteSee, Don, you're just getting in the spirit of the whole thing, New Year's arrival on New York time--the first moment in the country*, the biggest metropolis of all! It's an eminently deserving choice, if you want to celebrate. Happy New Year to you, and to all.
ReplyDelete(*Oh, maybe the tip of Maine is an earlier time zone, don't quibble. New York is the major spot.)