When my little sister was in early elementary school, she wrote a list that my dad has kept safe, titled "Thigs I Am Going to Do Today." It's as adorable now as it was then.
So with that in mind, and since I tend to re-read old posts to revisit old memories, here are "thigs" I want to remember from this past winter break.
It was right before the Christmas Eve candle light service, and my siblings were both on stage practicing with the other musicians while my brother- and sister-in-law cuddled babies and chased the bipedal children in the sanctuary. I got there early to provide reinforcements since the kids outnumbered the adults five to two. As I walked into the sanctuary, my two-year-old niece saw me and started sprinting towards me, arms held up so I could scoop her up and hug her. My five-year-old nephew followed closely behind, grabbing my legs so I couldn't walk away. Not that I would have wanted to.
After Christmas with family in New England, I flew to California to spend a week with one of my best friends and her husband. We saw the seals at La Jolla Cove, admired gardens (in January!) at Balboa Park in San Diego, and gleefully devoured an entire season of Hell's Kitchen dating from the early 2000's. (You know, before any of my students were born, so Ye Olde Days. Or the Jurassic Age. You get it.)
Since my friend and her husband live on a military base, I got a taste of California's natural state, without urban sprawl. She drove me all around base one evening. As we admired the San Bernardino mountains that had finally come out of hiding in the clouds, we stopped the car and got out. The silence made for a beautiful backdrop to the scene that met our eyes, even when it was broken occasionally by birdsong. I can still feel the peace of that evening.
Happy 2024, everyone. Here's to a year of renewed love and hope.