Yeah. We can hope.
I had a lovely Christmas holiday. Lexi, my granddaughter, had such a good time when she came into town for Thanksgiving that she wanted to see me again at Christmas. She called me to see if we could brainstorm ways to get together - she was going to be in Minnesota for part of the holiday, thought maybe I'd be able to join her there for a day or two. She said, "please?"
I told her I'd sleep on it, hung up the phone, and immediately got online to research airplane fares to California. I mean, what else is a Nana to do? I have not yet figured out a way to put time on pause, and I think I would have been a fool to not do my darnedest to find a way to say yes to her request. She's only going to be a kid for a few more years; I'd best enjoy time with her while I can.
It didn't take too long to determine I could get out there semi-affordably if I stayed a little longer than the original week I'd targeted for travel; if I flew on the edges of the Christmas rush. I checked with my daughter to make sure she was on board with the dates, and booked the tickets.
Now, California weather is usually sunny and in the sixties in December. Except this year. It decided to rain eight of the twelve days I was there. (Fortunately for my peace of mind, I wasn't there for the weather.) I got to witness the truth of the lyrics of the old pop song - "It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya, it pours. Man, it pours!" And pour it did. I now know why they put out weather alerts around there when rain is forecast - between mudslides and falling rocks there are roads you don't want to drive on when the rain is coming down.
While the rain put the kibosh on our plans to go camping a couple of nights while I was in town, we did get enough of a break in the damp to get out hiking one afternoon. It was as beautiful as it looks in the picture - upper fifties, warm sun, cool breeze. Perfect hiking weather. (Quite the change from the Christmas week activities of my Minnesota youth, I must say...)
Other than that, we didn't do a whole lot of doing. We met up with some of Kate's friends for Christmas gumbo. I put a puzzle together, we spent an evening companionably reading our separate books together in the same room. At her request, Lexi and I made cinnamon rolls and a chocolate cake. We went out one afternoon and delivered most of the cake to Kate's friends, who were happy to help us make sure we did not consume all those calories on our own.
The time flew, and my last night there found us all a little sad. We stopped and talked; listed our favorite parts of my visit. We snuggled together for a few minutes before going to bed, holding on to the love and warmth for just one more minute. It was SO hard to leave, but I left content, with a heart filled to overflowing with love.
After the past few years, I don't quite dare to try to form a picture of what I hope the new year will bring. I can, however, muster up my best resolve to ride the waves of whatever it brings; to embrace the good as it surfaces and let the rest slide.
Here's to 2022!
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