The Last Days of 2019
As we countdown these last few days of the year, realizing that we are staring at a brand new decade, thoughts of renewal and fresh beginnings take firm hold. It is not yet January, so these are not ‘resolutions’, but just ideas of how things - body, mind, home, garden and life - can be made better. And not necessarily better as in the way that most people may think of in the definition of that word, but better in a sense of just making things easier and more useful, more healthy and natural, more beneficial and real. Above all things, these last few days of December make me feel appreciative and thankful for the year just now passing, and I hope to renew those feelings in bigger and better ways in the coming year.
The week between Christmas and the first of January is a lazy ‘holiday’ week around here. A few social engagements, a couple of days away perhaps, but mostly the time is spent just catching up from all of the energy spent since Thanksgiving. The house is still decorated and it still very much feels like Christmas. That feeling lasts well through the last week of the year and then seems to abruptly stop on January 1. To me, the last week of the year is always a time for reflection and appreciation. Sitting down to one more holiday dinner in the dining room, looking up at the Christmas tree, a toasting glass in hand, is reminder enough to realize how very fortunate we are, and to understand how wonderful it is to spend yet another holiday season together with family and friends in our beautiful home. These times are not taken for granted; we are mindful of the precariousness of fate.
The end of the holiday season at Elm Cottage
So as we make our plans to close out this last year of the 2010’s, and as we step cautiously into the decade that will be the twenties, my mind begs for just a bit of clarity, for a touch of freshness. And as happy as I currently may feel, I am certainly all in for taking it to the next level and to clear out any demons or baggage that may linger from years past - those things that tend to hang on and to haunt us all from time to time. Why take those things with us into the New Year? Nope. Good riddance, I say. Clearing mind, as well as house and garden, will be the main tasks that I look forward to engaging in as we turn the page of the calendar.
Reveling in just the last little bits of Christmas - and enjoying every moment of it - I do also think of the clean slate that the next week will bring. It seems that I always start to make plans the very last week of December every year - in my head, jotted down on paper and stored as notes on my phone. The more the merrier and all the better to have in order to come up with a good plan for the new year. At this time of the year we are all given a blank slate and a do-over card; I definitely have plans of making some changes. Just getting on a better track to good health is the first one on the list. Making better choices in general is also a part of that ideal. And as far as the house goes, the kitchen certainly needs some work done, so I am starting to think that there is a new plan there (there is always work to be done in an old house). And the garden - always the garden - lots of plans for the garden! I am so anxious to get back outside and to truly ‘garden’ once again. But spring will be here before we know it; I am not one to rush anything; all in due time.
So tonight, sitting by the fire with a few new books and some garden catalogs - dreaming of spring - my mind wanders. This is the perfect ending to the year, allowing me to reflect and to plan, to dream and to prepare. Mostly, a few quiet hours just allows me to breath and to relax. Yes, the countdown at midnight will be as fun or as chaotic as we choose to make it, but once the clock does strike and the new year begins, the party that we either willingly or hesitantly went to will end and our regular day-to-day lives will begin again. Fresh beginnings - that’s what it is all about. The days of the calendar can always be cleared, the past wiped away and brand new starts taken. Here’s wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and hoping that it is filled with new ideas and exciting plans, good thoughts, good health and great happiness. See you in 2020!
Until next time…
