"May the love hidden deep inside your heart find the love waiting in your dreams. May the laughter that you find in your tomorrow wipe away the pain you find in your yesterdays.”
The last day of 2009, it snowed sparingly. Not the cozy slow-settling deep snowstorms of New Yorks iron-cold winters, which sink on the city like a cool white washcloth on sweat soaked skin, but more a stray morning snowflake coughing-fit from a gruff, grizzled, silver-haired winter sky.
It shimmered in the sun and began to fade slowly away, even before I could get the kids coats on to play outside... By the time we reached the sidewalk, bundled up in coats, hats and gloves, they had to search a bit to find the patches of snow that has not yet melted under the suns' passive gaze. There were round frost skirts in the shade of the oak trees, and mini snow drifts caught on iron fence rails like frosting thrown on by a careless knife. Low leaves on bushes wore their remaining snow politely, like napkins folded in their little green laps, which were blithely swept off by little boy wearing what appeared to be red boxing gloves.
Parked cars were fair game too once it was established that snow on cars is probably public property.
We walked to the library slowly, sliding in slush every once in awhile, and stepping over frosty puddles clutching books almost due, but when we got there, it had closed early for New Years. It didn't really matter much. The air was warmed by the snowfall and we had nowhere pressing to be for that exact moment of time, we walked slowly back home in the dying light.
An industrious man had set up a folding table of New years plastic blowers and trumpets, blinking sunglasses and lurid glitter coated hats. The penetrating honking of his trumpet as he demonstrated his wares, had Dovi making a beeline directly for the table, before I swiftly caught the back of his jacket and hissed at him "Please no".
"Wow," said Adina, raising one eyebrow "He really shouldn't blow those things if he wants people to buy them. He is showing people how horribly annoying they really are." She had a good point right there. I concurred, Dovi didn't but the bright lights of the grocery store distracted him.
I pulled out my yellow post-it-note, and we got our groceries,. I needed fresh vegetables for spring rolls and sweet potatoes to be chopped into fries. Also, cake and buttercream frosting for celebrating New Years, kid style. Dark had come so quickly. The way home was an adventure for Dovi the explorer, lagging behind every couple of steps while he navigated another interesting pile of snow or found a puddle in the escarpment. The most fascinating discoveries was different colored snow. After being sternly warned off yellow snow, he found orange snow and blue snow. I do not even want to know what that was composed of, which is what I told him when he asked.
Supper turned out well. Kellie arrived and we all sat down to watch Pixars new set of short films. Dovi and Adina put a blanket on the floor and even Ollie curled up fluffily, and joined us as we avidly watched progressively more sophisticated short animated films, amazing, both in sheer craftsmanship, technological artistry and sharp wit.
The kids went to bed after the movie, will bellies full of cake and stories.
Kellie and I stayed up and watched a TV show we had been following on DVD together. It was excellent as usual... and so we slipped into the new year in companionable serenity. The blinking of the DVD player at 11.59 reminded me that this year, this entirely life changing year was almost over. it was as year entirely lacking in subtleties, full of raw pain and loss and yet growth, courage and love. It was a year of difficult endings and new truthful beginnings... I looked at her, 2009 had brought me...so much.
A kiss... at midnight.. I don't think I had ever done that before.. and fireworks went off somewhere and Ollie shot under the bed, only poking an anxious nose out around 12.30pm...
I had started the new year with a kiss...imagine that...
