Friday, January 2, 2015

New Year’s Resolutions a day or two late…

Many, many years ago I stopped making New Year’s resolutions: on the whole they are just a list that serves to frustrate oneself in the following days, weeks and months as inevitably most are ignored, forgotten or otherwise not followed.

This year was no exception, until I got to thinking.

In many ways 2015 will be a year of extraordinary harking back to the past, dealing with the present and looking towards the future for me personally. Was going to do my usual colons and semi colons until I realized that what with the ()’s I would be creating a monster of a paragraph so changed tack, which I am sure will allow for more clarity – or at least the potential thereof.

We will commemorate (glad I found that word as “celebrate” didn’t really ring quite true and is in fact the opposite of the emotions involved) the death of my husband; he would have turned 80 shortly after this anniversary and there are still many people beside my sons, and myself who remember: continuity.  Amongst them his only still surviving sibling, his sister. Surely I will visit.

I myself look back over my lifetime of a professional life that was anything but boring as I finally and officially “retired” Dec.10th.  At some point I may entertain myself listing all the jobs both large and small – or not.  At one point before the world enlarged measurably types of employment due to the boom in technology my husband and I reckoned that between ourselves we had covered a great many.

So although there will be many thoughts of the past, the present (and at this point future as well) will be chock-oh-block full of fun, friends and family.


This year will see many visits in spite of my self-determined “Hotel Julia is closed” ban: my housemate and her husband (she of course belongs, he is still a guest although in the best sense of the term); a new friend with origins and cousins in Switzerland (will be very entertaining to compare notes); hopefully my DIY cousin W together with another of our cousins S; perhaps a couple of friends made when Hotel Julia was a going concern; and a highlight in the fall with (at least they are currently planning it) the visit of two of my American nephews and their significant others (saves having to say wife and girlfriend – but I couldn’t resist anyway). Added to that the odd night when my older son is in between trips and he can’t access his flat, and the more permanent presence of my younger son.

Returning to the past: I am awarding myself a medal as I managed to get through a whole year without any medical mishaps. My goal this year would be more of the same please!

The very recent past: as I stayed in town for Christmas it was lovely. Celebrated with the boys Christmas on the 19th (even getting just the three of us together in the same spot at the same time is not always easy); Christmas Eve saw us up at good friends for raclette – somewhat of a miracle to actually find a date that accommodated me, my two sons, my friend and her husband and her two children along with her father; Christmas day we hosted lunch and enjoyed the company of my upper neighbors and their son.

But what really made me reflect upon my enormous luck and how I want my life to continue were the events surrounding New Year. I had not planned anything at all, but at the last minute had the Christmas Eve friends “drop by for a drink on your way home from the hospital” (all is, if not perfect, stable), which led to calling one of my coffee-in-the-village pals and then, when I was leaving mid-afternoon to run some errands, also saw the upper neighbors and invited them as well: an impromptu event that turned out very well. Yesterday I was offered a ride up to St.Cergue – sun (!!!), snow enough to make it picturesque, fondue for lunch then a visit to new friends in a chalet up the hill.  Today it will be a water park with the boys followed by a meal in the old town.

I only have one resolution or wish: that my year continues as it ended and began - in the company of friends and family!

January 1, 2015

No comments:

Post a Comment