Happy (Cold) New Year... sort of.

The temp is around 2 degrees with wind chills hovering at -20. Happy New Year-this is, BTW, completely sincere. I love the cold weather.

So the new year, sometimes I'm not sure what to make of it. I think it's nice to take a step back and reflect on your year and where you've been and where you're going, but again, it all seems a bit misguided, in line with the flawed idea (my opinion) of spending your life in anticipation of a few key days every year. These include weddings, birthdays, holidays, and yes, New Year's Eve. My only issue with it is that we seem to put our lives on hold until a few key days each year, when in fact we should be living every day as if it were special, because it is. This is something we want to teach our kids, that they should look forward to each and every day, and that Sundays are not days to be dreaded, and that they shouldn't put their lives on hold waiting for a moment, when in fact, that moment is now.

I think about most people and how they hate their jobs and can't wait for a vacation, as if a couple of weeks of enjoyment make up for the rest of the crappy days of their lives. I know this is just the reality of life, and I've lived it myself, but wouldn't it be nice to celebrate life more often? Or even just not dread each day, like going to a job you hate, or SCHOOL. Did you ever notice how so many kids hate school, and yet, they have to go for 12-13 years? What kind of life is that?

Anyway, just some food for thought. My point is, I'm happy and excited for the new year, but that doesn't mean that we've put our lives on hold for it, or for that matter, anything much is going to change from this day henceforth. If you want to change, why wait for the new year to do it?

On that note, we had a nice new year's eve. C came over and we went skating, and man is she a good skater. Makes sense, she's a hockey player. It was a lot of fun either way, and we had the rink all to ourselves. We came home and I'm proud to say that nobody, not even once, asked to watch a DVD, an issue that often comes up and sends us into battle.

That evening, my wife came home just as we were making won tons, and it turned into a fun family affair. I started out making them on my own, figuring that the kids were too tired and distracted to want to take part, but they both wanted to jump in, especially A, and surprisingly, N. He usually doesn't like getting his hands dirty, and it's messy work, but he jumped in head first and did a great job.

R came home about the time we were half finished, and she quickly joined the fray, and it was a lot of fun, just hanging out at home, making New Year's dinner together. I love it.

We'd decided to have a picnic on the living room floor, something we do often, though the idea of eating dumplings with soy sauce on a blanket was daunting. Especially when you have cats. Sure enough, in an effort to shoo them away from the food, I managed to knock over someone's lemonade. Then, in a brilliant move to clean up the spill, I managed to knock over another, as well. What a big klutz I am. I ruined our picnic, and we decided to move to the table. The kids were upset, but they calmed down and we had a great meal.

R picked up Horton Hears a Who, and we sat down to our annual movie/junk food fest. At one point A said it was the best New Year's ever, but she could have just been trying to make me feel better after having ruined the picnic. Thanks to our daughter for her empathy.

We loved the movie, and ate lots of ice cream, M&M's, kettle corn and lemonade. The kids were thrilled, and it was a really nice celebration, just our speed, just the family. You can't beat it.

One quick note, our son found the piece of my glasses that had broken off, and the glasses themselves are very fixable, so a good moment was had. Thanks. He found this piece in three feet of snow, mind you, and had the wherewithal to save it and give it to me. How cool is that?

So it was a good day. I finished my piece for WAHM, and we had a nice family celebration. Today we'll have a nice breakfast, maybe waffles and sausage, and then maybe venture out and get ourselves some 2009 calendars, always nice after Christmas because you get the 50% off.

Until the next time, Happy New Year and thanks for reading.