HAPPY NEW YEAR

I so wish I had a photo to put in here ,but i don't and I'm too scrupulous to steal one, although that is my inclination. My friend Hooodie Rowlings emailed me a New Years greeting with the most beautiful photo of the full moon over Main Brook. I could ask Hoodie for permission to use his photo, but that wouldn't solve the problem as I dont' think I could get it posted on my blog.
so I'll paint a picture with words for you.
It's a beautiful day here in Little Rock. The sky is azure blue. There are still roses bloomng and not a peck of snow. What will I do when I have to go back home and deal with mountains of snow?
My son in law is listening to the Rose Bowl football game and every once in a few minutes, he erupts with loud hog like noises. The meaning of which is only known to those who follow football.
My youngest grandson is rolling a marble across the floor. He has abandoned shouting orders to his mother to "come right now!" I told him he is very bossy, it didn't seem to register. He is the cock of the walk. he struts around like a football player. He talks a lot about God and asks constantly where his heart is. He told us the other day, "I have two hearts momma"
I believe he does.
My eldest grandson is awaiting his birthday tomorrow. He will be nine. I am giving him money. That is his request. He wants to buy a collection of "Calvin and Hobbs".His mother loved "Calvin and Hobbs" at his age. He is so like her. Serious , but a monkey mind, he loves to scare me with his motion alarm. He hides it , so it will alarm when I least expect it.
My middle grandson is soon to be seven . His birthday is on the Feast of the Ephinany. He also wants money and since I will be leaving on his birthday, I will give him his money tomorrow as well. He is lovely and quiet and mysterious. He doesn't let you see his inside often, but when he does it glows. He and his older brother are like Calvin and Hobbs, they are lost without the other.
My sister and I were like that. We grew up as each other's shadows. We are shaped by our relationship to our siblings. Like trees that grow in the forest, we wrap around each other and grow together.
Today is my mother's 99th birthday. She has been dead for six years. I played her favourite song this morning. It was "Danny Boy". I always get weepy when I hear it sung.
We are cleaning up from the party , my daughter hosted last night. It was so lovely. The house was bathed in candlelight. She was at her loveliest, sparkling and glowing. It is so wonderful to be here and to be part of this family. I love my daughter's friends. They feel like my friends as well. I have been here so often that I have a history here. It feels like coming home.
What will the New Year bring? At one time I could intuit what the new year would bring. I seem to have lost that ability, or perhaps, I like my "not know mind" too much. I love that life is full of surprises and that we have no way of knowing what tomorrow may bring. For certain, it will not stay the same. Life doesn't stand still, for good or bad, it is like a river flowing , flowing, carrying us into the unknown. We need to trust that we are where we need to be and we are being carried along on this wonderful river called life..............