New Year's '09

Traditionally, Richard and I never do anything too exciting on New Year's Eve, so this was an exceptional year. Typically, Richard's dad comes up sometime after Christmas and the family gets together, but not usually on New Year's Eve. Avoiding holiday traffic has been the general rule. This New Year's, however, Richard's brother Dave, his wife Diane and two of their children, braved the snow storms in the Northwest and ventured south to pay the family a visit. It has been years since they have been here on the holidays, so it was a special occasion, indeed.

Below is a photo of my sister in-law, Diane, and her youngest daughter, Kenzie, at a local Starbucks in Valencia. Diane, Kenzie and I decided to take a trip to Valencia to do a little shopping. We all wanted out of the Bakersfield fog, even if only for a few hours, and a trip to Valencia did the trick. As soon as we got above the Grapevine we were out of the fog.


Diane and I became instant friends 35 years ago when we got engaged to our husbands. All those years ago, people thought that Diane and I looked more like sisters than our husbands looked like brothers. At any rate, I think it's true and at the very least we are kindred spirits.

We never spoke of New Year's resolutions the entire time we were together, but we were definitely in sync with our goals, because every day Diane would say, "Kathy lets do your exercise video together." She had brought a yoga video with her too and I made a valiant effort to do yoga with her, if I do say so myself. Over the years we have both put on a little weight and it's so wonderful to know she hasn't given up the fight either. Diane's recent weight loss has given me renewed hope to keep working on it. I am so sad that we don't live closer.

It's a real privilege to be together with family. Sometimes I long for the quiet holidays of my youth when it was just my mother, my sister and myself. It's not that I don't like being a part of a larger family, it's just that it's different, that's all. My grandson's couldn't get enough of the family being together. They were perpetually excited and filled with joy. That kind of joy really is contagious.

The picture below is of Richard's dad and his wife of forty eight years. They had just celebrated their anniversay a couple of days before New Year's. Also, in the photo, is Richard's sister Sherree, who was already busy in the kitchen when Diane and Kenzie and I returned for our trip to Valencia.

This year Richard's mother got all the cousins together at Marie Callendar's for a currently traditional luncheon and then a couple of days later the parents were treated to a dinner out at Urrichio's. This shift in celebrating a few days after Christmas meant that I got to enjoy a relaxed Christmas with my own children, without needing to entertain the entire clan. I must say it was one of the most enjoyable Christmas's ever. Noone was in the hospital, everyone was healthy and it was, for all intense purposes, as stress free as they come.

What a joy it is to have my eldest daughter living right next door. Amanda has been such a joy through the holidays, in so many ways, especially because she loves to share her culinary skills with the family. Being a mother herself has given her an appreciation for what it takes to entertain a family as big as ours and she does it so graciously.

Every one New Year's Eve looked happy to be together, sharing good food, conversation and memories from Christmas's past.

In the photo above cousins, Kenzie, Morgan and Spencer smile for the camera. In the photo below, Richard's brother Dave, looks up from the computer.

Cousin David looks a little sleepy in the photo below. Not too many of our clan made it all the way to midnight to ring in the New Year.