The changing of the year

 To me the year changed at the solstice, but the time after was filled with lights, friends, good food and just the joy of being until we arrive at the traditional New Year's Eve date, today.

Tonight we will join friends from other countries that we do not get to see often and between age and illnesses, each moment with them is a gift.

The end of 2022 was marked with death: a call from a friend of the 80s, a woman who saved books turning them into works of art. She had been a neighbor and we called ourselves sisters from two different countries. She spoke very little English just about equal to my limited French, but we spoke love. I look forward to meeting up with her daughter, who was a teenager with serious medical problems in the 80s. That the girl lived to be a woman is in itself a miracle.

Then it seemed that celebrities died in greater numbers than usual the past few days: Pele, Pope Benedict, Vivian Westwood, Barbara Walters. 

My husband and I discovered both his parents died on the same day and month as my father, 29 December. 

One of the problems of aging is that people who have always been a part of our lives disappear although they stay in hearts and memories. Their lives are there to be celebrated as is the time we shared.

I look back on 2022, still filled with Covid.

Myself? I had two falls one leading to a broken nose, the other to upsetting the crystals in my ear leading to dizziness. I never knew I had crystals there, never mind the they communicate equilibrium messages to the brain. I still think of crystals as things that go in bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces. It is getting better.

We had some wonderful travels: Garmisch, Inverness, Edinburgh, Boston. This was less than pre-Covid but up from during-Covid. From time to time we explored areas in Switzerland and France usually on the spur of the moments.

Watching a friend recover from a horrendous accident go from coma to a year ago to his showing up at our front door having ridden his bike to us from another village. He still needs more surgery and rehab, but his even being alive is a miracle.

My daughter and I tested the making lemonade out of lemons saying when we had a wonderful week together despite both having mild cases of Covid. I didn't see a lot of what I wanted to see in Boston, but before I got sick I got to meet Ranger Jim, the wonderful help in writing Lexington. The novel is dedicated to him in appreciation of his help and the dedication to preserving history. We left flowers at the grave of the unknown British soldier who died in the first battle of the American Revolution. He was the motivation for the novel.

Summer heat gave way to a beautiful autumn, but the long summer nights in a French village with friends, sitting in a special café were bearable. Thank goodness the heat didn't last longer.

Because I've tackled three writing projects this year, progress on each is slower than it would be if I would focus on just one, but my head is full of ideas on all three. I give into that. 

Lexington: Anatomy of a Novel was published. The working title of the novel is Twins. The Corporate Virgin is the title of an anthology of my short stories and poems. The third projects is a collection of remarkable women, at least one for every day of the year.

My 80th birthday include a surprise when a good, good friend walked into the restaurant. My present, a visit to Pompeii will have to wait. The heat and tourists is a good reason to postpone it. If all goes well, we will go in March when it will be cooler and with less people.

I read 99 books slightly over 37,000 pages. The page count does not include magazines, newspapers (on line) etc.

Each day was enhanced by the presence of my husband. After almost 10 years, I'm still amazed at the joy he gives to my life. As a backdrop, the laughter and licks from my pup Sherlock is like adding just the right about of spice to the casserole of my life. 

I do not know why I've been so lucky to have the life I do. Not a day passes when I'm not aware of  no bombs fell near me. I'm not a refuge  crossing dangerous country or risking drowning. I have enough of everything I need, sometimes more than I need. The number of friends enriching my life, people from many countries and backgrounds, is truly a blessing. I wake up each morning with a to-do list including carry overs from yesterday or maybe last week or in a couple of cases, last month. It's okay.