This year's Christmas letter which has not been sent out yet.
I'm going back to work tomorrow so maybe my dear recipients may not receive this letter before March break.
As I so often do, I left my correspondance for my last couple of days of vacation.
Outside it is snowing so heavily that the birds are not even taking turns at the feeder. Jays, juncos, cardinals, cheekadees and little brown things are all having at the seed and suet buffet in our backyard.Jacques has gone out for his twice daily 'round the village walk and I am waiting for 2 girlfriends to come by to go snowshoeing.
Last night, we went skating under the stars because it was just too cold to walk. We brought a thermos of glogg to warm us up.
These last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of parties, brunches, dinners and get-togethers with friends and family. There have been some quiet times for reading and contemplation.
I try not to dwell too much on the past or fret too much about the future. I make a conscious effort to be totally in the moment. The simple fact that I must make myself live in the NOW should tell you something about my inner jabberings.
Jacques and I are both in good health. We are both active. We are surrounded by good friends, many of whom live within a stone's throw. Many others are within the Montreal-Ottawa corridor. Promises have been made with out-of-town friends to see each other more regularly in the New Year.
Why is everyone busy? What are we all chasing? It is hard to make a date when we all have to turn on our laptops, cell phones, Pda's, just to get at our calendars in order to find a day when we are all free. Even more so when we play email tag to get ourselves organized for an outing. Somehow, we will manage because in the end, what could more important than time with family and friends.
A character in a book I was reading this week said something to the effect of "We tend to regret things we did not do, yet we rarely regret what we did do...even the less than good stuff. And the really bad stuff should teach us something if we are not complete nincompoops."
Today was the last day of vacation. I went for a walk with friends. I visited my aunt and uncle and brought them some of my homemade cranberry chutney. I made a big pot of soup and a yogourt nut bread so that Jacques and I will have healthy breakfasts and lunches this week. Then I went skating and played ice hockey with a teenage friend. During a self-imposed rest sitting together in the penalty box, my high achieving young city buddy looked on at the village kids between the ages of 9 and 19 whipping around the ice rink making a difficult game look like a choreographed dance.
She wondered why she did not excel at sports even though she is quite good at them. I answered that I enjoy being good at a lot of things and that developping an active lifestyle might be more important for overall well-being. I explained that I had decided when I was a little older than her that I prefered choosing activities that I could keep up for the next 50 years or so rather than shining in team sports that tend to fade away when you leave school. We are allowed to pursue activities just for fun.
And as far as excellence goes, my mother taught me that when we discover a passion, we will put in the time and effort required to reach a level of excellence. If we are truly lucky, somebody might even pay us to spend our days doing what we really love.
Jacques' 91 year old mother, Albertine, lives in a home a couple of blocks from us. There is a 103 year old lady, Mme Couillard, who knits in the rocking chair besides Albertine. The other night she summed up a much simpler philophy for me: "I eat well, I sleep well, and nothing hurts. Life is good." I dared not disagree with such wisdom.
Wishing you interesting conversations, passion, active pursuits, healthy and beautiful food, restful sleep, and good health in 2009.
posted by Queenbeabea | 3:46 PM
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