January 1, 2009
Well Then, Happy New Year!
New Year’s Day at Grandma’s House
We started the first day of the New Year by going to church. It’s a holy day of obligation honoring Mary, Mother of God.
Listening to the readings and the Gospel during Mass, I felt great peace fall upon me. I’ve been going to weekly Mass for as long as I can remember — my parents raised me Catholic and made certain I was reared in the teachings of our faith — but never do I remember feeling so calm. It’s as though all my worries and troubles have been washed away, not only because it’s a new year, but perhaps because I’m making an effort to start 2009 on the right foot.
After church we went to my parents’ house to visit with my family and watch college football. Dawson had a blast because Poppa turned into a horse and gave him rides around the living room. Seeing my father and my son playing and acting silly always puts a smile on my face because I still remember my dad doing the same things with me and my siblings when we were kids.
My mom and I talked about this and that, and I showed her some of the pictures I had taken during the holidays. Mom asked if I had made any New Year’s resolutions this year (obviously she doesn’t read this blog) and I told her I did not. She laughed and said she didn’t think she was going to make any, because she can never keep them either.
We left shortly after the Michigan vs. Georgia (Capital One Bowl) game because we had plans for dinner. At the grocery store last week I picked up some shrimp, a pork tenderloin and some baby red potatoes, and Doug was going to make a delicious meal. My sister-in-law gave us a great bottle of Cabernet for Christmas and we cracked it open with dinner. Oooh man, it was some strong vino. I felt a little tipsy after my first half glass. It is a delicious wine, though. I’m hoping it weakens just a little so I can have another glass this weekend.
Tomorrow I go back to the gym. My doctor has given me the green light to start exercising again (under the condition that I wear the knee brace while working out) and I’m anxious to get back on the treadmill and the elliptical. I haven’t been to the gym in over two weeks and I miss it. The swelling in my knee is finally gone and I can fully extend my leg now. Bending the knee past a 90 degree angle is still tricky, but the doc says yoga and stretching should help. If it doesn’t, I may need a round of physical therapy. I signed up for a yoga class this session at the YMCA so cross your fingers I can limber up and avoid PT.
On Saturday night, Doug and I are attending a holiday party and I’m so excited. I’ve procured a babysitter (thank goodness I have a younger brother who likes to make money) and we intend to have a good time. The party is at a local restaurant that we love, too. Since we didn’t go out for New Year’s Eve (we were in bed right after we watched the ball drop at 11:00 our time) we’ve decided to consider Saturday as our NYE celebration.
I still haven’t taken our Christmas tree down. I’m hoping I’ll find time to do that on Sunday. Doug asked me when I planned to take it down, and honestly, if I had it my way I’d keep it up a little longer since I put it up so late. I always feel kind of sad when it’s time to put the tree away, but I suppose that’s because it really is beautiful when it’s lit up and decorated.
Dawson loves to lay down under the tree while he’s watching television. When I told him the tree was coming down soon he said, “No, no, Mumma! Wait until the New Year!”
“Dawson, today is the first day of the new year!” I replied.
“Well then, Happy New Year!” Dawson exclaimed.
Yes, Happy New Year indeed!
RSS feed for comments on this post.
TrackBack URI
January 14th, 2009 at 3:19 PM, Cheryl Says:
Just dropped in to say hi! I hope everything is going well for you. Guess what? Chris and I joined a Catholic church recently and we’re starting RCIA to convert. It’s so exciting. Anyway. I can’t blog about it until I break the news to my mom, but I thought you might get a kick. Love,
Cheryl