new year's

Back from Florida. The funeral was beautiful and horrible in the way that all funerals should be. Instead of an open casket, there was draped a quilt that Mima had made. We spent some time identifying where the squares came from. Everybody had input and memories to share. It wasn’t a planned activity, either, it just grew from the moment and I think Mima would have enjoyed that very much. We flew back to Boston yesterday and visited with my aunt in Andover a bit. Her father, my great-uncle, Mima’s brother, died the day after Mima did. We talked about all the people who have gone, and how the last one of my grandmother’s siblings is my great aunt in Lebanon. Who knows if I’ll ever see her again?

I’ve long held a superstition that the first day, maybe even the first few hours, set the tone for the whole year. We rang it in quietly at a friend’s house. There were five of us and we ate gorgeous food and reminisced. We spoke to friends far away on the phone, spoke to our respective families, watched the ball drop. The cats were soft, the house was warm, not a bad way at all to start the year.

We also had a visit from a friend who moved away a few months ago. Her dog and Isaac are best friends, and he gave her a rather enthusiastic greeting. Who said dogs don’t have good memories? The menu was pizza, salad and squash pie.