Trite, optimistic, and true.

Because cynicism just doesn't look good on me this year.

Happy New Year, everyone!

My, what a whirlwind of a holiday season this has been. The last three weeks heaped copious amounts of chaos, merriment, and food on our homestead, all in which I indulged with abandon. I have since recovered my routine, but not without the accompanying symptoms of withdrawal I experience each time a season comes to a close. I can hear my own thoughts again and they surround change, anticipation, and preparation. 

What I will miss most about the holidays:

Waking up to riotous laughter and the smell of pozole. I am lucky to have some very humorous family members who love to exchange stories and jokes. They will do it all day and they are all very good at it. (I am not, so I won't attempt to retell one of the good ones but maybe provide brief descriptions of the raconteurs later.) Each one of my uncles also happens to be musically gifted, so we also have live music playing constantly- anything from Tom Petty to Vicente Fernandez. And the food...did I mention the food?

What I will miss most about 2008:

Spending more carefree, quality time at home with my family than I have since lazy childhood summers. This year has given me many opportunities, but the one I have treasured the most is simply retreating to domestic comfort. I've read, written, and cooked to my full satisfaction in 2008. 

What I'm doing now:

I am collecting my experiences, my motivation, and my skills, and planning my future accomplishments. I have big ideas for 2009. 

I am also redirecting some of my focus to latent creative pursuits. I recovered my sketchpad a few days ago and have begun to draw again. Drawing, for me, is one of those things I forget I really love until I force myself to try it again. Then, after hand and paper reunite in intimate familiarity, clarity settles around me and I once again chide myself for ever abandoning it. 

Resolution #1: Improve my memory.

I also picked up my crochet hook this season and took to crocheting many a sweater for my pampered and hypothermic dog. Next on the project list is a baby afghan for my beautiful little cousin, Samantha Mia. Crocheting is a relaxing and not-at-all-antiquated hobby, by the way, if you're conjuring up images of spinsters and thinking of poking fun.

Resolution #2: Stop defending my true and well-founded character. 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, here's what I got for Christmas: A travel emergency kit, a plane ticket to Stanford, much-needed health insurance, and some girlie odds and ends. Do practical gifts mean I'm practically grown-up? If you have the answers: fabianna@stanfordalumni.org

Comments

[Sabatino]

Coloured 2009! Enjoy

[soulman]

When I was a kid I loved getting the newspaper so I could read the Calvin and Hobbes comics. Funny stuff.

[Brianna]

This semester I read Esperanza Rising (for adolescent lit) and it has a good point in there about crocheting.
I'm compiling quotes from my favorite reads this semester and I'll include it in my post this week just because you brought up the crocheting.
BTW, right when you mentioned the crocheting, you qualified it by not following resolution #2! haha.

[fabianna]

Haha, that was completely intentional, actually. I guess my third resolution is to improve the clarity in my writing. Subtle jokes are usually not jokes at all.