Monday

You know Ed's favorite saying -- every day is a holiday. He throws it around when he doesn't want to take on the traditions (especially gift giving) of a particular festival or celebration. But is today is a real holiday? It feels like January 3rd stands for something, but I can't quite put my finger on what. Initially, I worried that I was missing someone else's important day. I have friends, I have young families, they all have birthdays and anniversaries and special days for this and that. Is January 3rd someone's to claim? Have I forgotten something?

I have given this a lot of thought (that's what happens when there are no kids in my day -- I have room to think) and have concluded that December is so packed with special dates that it seems inconceivable that one could follow soon that holds absolutely no meaning for anyone I know.

And yet, it feels festive, in that it feels so good to be alive and well on this day! From the get go. I wake up to some messages from family and that just makes me ready to face the day, earlier than my usual lazy climb out of bed on a cold winter's day. And yes, I feel it -- it is nippy out there! Colder than yesterday. I'm wearing my ancient bulky parka even to feed the animals. 

It's such a wintry icy morning that Ed signs up for oatmeal for breakfast. Me, I'm still in love with the panettone. 

I have a few small scraps of chores to do then. One requires me to get a piece of paper notarized. I've been through this before -- finding a notary to authenticate your signature slapped onto a text written in Polish is not easy. I've never understood this resistance: the notary after all is not attesting to the authenticity of the document! They know nothing about it even if it's in the language of their choice. It's all about the signature. Is it that they worry that they are authenticating a sworn statement about some heinous crime? "I did not know she was about to set the town on fire!" "But you signed your name under her statement!"

Eventually I found a fellow in some small bank off of Broadway who basically wrote something that implied he doesn't know what the hell the paper is, but yes, it was Nina C who signed it on this day in his small bank on a cold Januray 3rd.

 

And then Ed and I went skiing. Right arm of the local park, no groomed trails, but a lovely run which includes a rather long hill, one that I feel is safe for Ed to zip down on. He can still fall and break all his bones, but at least he wont plaster his torso to some tree along the way. It's all grasses and frozen prairies around us.

 

And of course, this is going to be followed by an adult version of hot chocolate with marshmallows: hot milky coffee with chocolate covered gingerbread on the side. Only not before the Christmas tree. That one went out with the old year.

A lovely day. Really, super pretty. Not at all ordinary! A real holiday for the soul!