It is way past midnight, officially January 1st, but the new year is only a few hours old. It's still dark, and the night resonates with echoes of New Year's Eve.
I had initially planned a long, meandering post. Fortunately for you, I'm weary and not in the mood to think or write. I'll offer a few random reflections.
For me, new year's eve has never been a particularly celebratory time. Even at a young age I was always deeply reflective in somber pessimism. To believe that my new year would ever be happy, prosperous, or completely fulfilling was beyond the realms of my limited definition of possibility. To hope for too much was a certain assurance of doom. The superstitions of my Magyar gypsy ancestors taint my blood.
New year's eve has always been a sober time for me - a night for sweet remembrance, teetering on the vague threshold of uncertain possibilities. It is a magical night, a momentous night - filled with visiting ghosts of the past and the internal conflicts of resident demons.
I'm thinking out loud again, which isn't always the wisest thing to do. Reflections are often best left unsaid.
This new year's eve began as a dank, chilly, rainy day and quickly dissolved into a very dark, cold, rainy night. I didn't do much at all, but I did it with peaceful pleasure and a sense of calm that I haven't felt in a long while.
I got up fairly early after a few hours of gratifying sleep. I did chores, played with the cats, went outside for a few rain-soaked minutes to take some photos of the final day of 2016. There was nothing to see, really. Naked, rain-soaked trees and a dismal sky.
view in the back yard
view looking out from the front of the house
This was an extremely quiet night - and the most uneventful new year's eve I can remember. No coyotes or dogs, no owls - absolute silence. I seemed to be completely disconnected from civilization. Nothing but impenetrable darkness and intermittent rain.
I wrote a few emails to long-lost friends, watched the Times Square "festivities" on live-stream, sent a few texts (one to my cousin Nancy), and had a pleasant dinner at midnight.
That's the extent of my new year's eve.
My cat Kitzee (Scratch) stayed with me all night. She's presently on my lap as I write. Bosco and Scruffy are asleep in another room.
I had a few glasses of frosty ginger ale. Cheers!
I lit some candles in remembrance of
ghosts of my past
An antique English mug (loving cup?) from the 1850's, traditionally used on new years eve. It's very large. I've had it for years.
My love and very best wishes to all of you for a peaceful, productive 2017.
Jon V.
