More Snow and the Final Gathering

Yes, boys and girls, just when you think you might be putting the shovel away for the winter, along comes another six inches of snow. And not the light fluffy stuff of December, but what we usually get here, heavy, wet, and sticky, gut wrenching, muscle tearing, ligament stretching, hernia inducing, cardiac arresting slush. But, my carefully chosen Canadian Tire snow shovel stood the test, as did my aging body, and we both lived to tell the tale. There is a call for a mixed bag of weather for the next few days so my snow woes may not yet be over. One benefit of all this grunt work is that I am developing Arnold Schwarzenegger like shoulders. Now, if I only had his money, I would hire the kids up the street to do the work like they wanted to do a few days ago.

That pretty much took up my New Year"s Day morning and in the afternoon we slipped (literally) over to the rented hall at one of the local churches and had our Christmas/New Years family gathering on Lis's side. By noon, the snow had stopped falling and it was good that we did not cancel because almost everyone showed up! The food at these parties is always top notch and as to be expected, I over ate. But hey, I had just burned 8,641 calories that very morning! The church hall was just the right size and everything we needed was there, including a room to lock in all the rowdy little boys who were making Star Wars noises. We played some fun games and as usual, which is somewhat unusual, everybody got along famously.

Lis's parents, who are 79 and 80, were given an opportunity to recall an interesting Christmas from their past. We heard stories, again, from their young years during the war in Russia, Germany, and Poland, and it gave us a profound gratitude for our own circumstances today.

It never hurts to look back on a New Year's Day. Looking back before we look forward helps us do so with wisdom.

So, another year begins. What will it bring? More adventure, to be sure.