Happy New Year!

The rain has come, raining for the first time on the Rose Parade in fifty years. I was sorry to see that so many stations dropped coverage of the beloved parade - made me wonder about its future. I grew up in Pasadena, see, blocks away from one of the corners of the parade route. One of my earliest, most vivid, memories includes walking with my mother and small crowd of people on a typically bright January first morning to watch the parade - I can recall the height of everyone around me, the energy in the air, the peddlers of balloons, horns, cotton candy, programs - party stuff that looked so wonderful to a five-year old. The crowd I was with had been overnight guests who'd awakened in our Caltech home following a wild party thrown by my parents. Imagining back...the hangovers must have been profound. Amazing that so many would be willing to hike up Sierra Madre to Colorado Boulevard for a parade. Just goes to show the value of this particular parade. The corner that was "our corner" was towards the end of the route, meaning many floats would be in the throes of being towed. Didn't matter. The flowers and the smiles and the bands were still brilliant and captivating.

So the parade this year was rained down on. Colorado Boulevard never looked so dramatic.

Our New Years' Eve, this year, was spent with my sister and brother and their respective families. We chatted, drank, played poker, and watched the kids and dogs and woweee...we yelled a storm when 2006 hit, everyone outside, the children especially whooping it up, finally at the end of their night. The streets were busy when we drove home, the rain starting again. The kids fell asleep in the car, the hour near 1:00 a.m. when we got home. I sat awake a while longer in my pajamas, watching some mindless t.v., thinking about my resolutions, my objectives, the house blissfully quiet.

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Clean up my office.

Be happier.

Enjoy the children more.

Write more.

Organize my pictures.

Exercise more.

Get angry less often.

Read more.

Cook more.

Spend less money.

Spend more time preparing class lectures.

Create a website for school.

Breathe deeper.

Nap more often.

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The last day of the year was lazy. We all seemed to be moving from couch to bed to the kitchen and back to couch or bed. In the afternoon I settled into new sheets and a new, huge comforter, cuddling cozily, with M next to me. She wasn't sleeping, though, she was playing with a doll, playing doctor, wrapping my wrist with a ribbon (a bandage), putting clips in my hair, and talking softly in a doctorly voice. For at least an hour I closed my eyes, relaxing, napping. Coming to the conclusion and complete awareness that this is my favorite way to nap.

I imagine this is the way I want to live - my life a perfect blend of self-care and parenting. I hope the year brings more napping.

Happy New Year to everyone...may this year pour good fortune on all.