seasons

I am officially at the end of about seven weekends in a row that have been filled, respectively, with Christmas shopping, Christmas and New Years parties, recitals, house-guests, and wonderful visits with friends and family. All of that is the sort of thing that makes life special and memorable, well, not Christmas shopping, necessarily, but the friends and family part especially. I have had such a wonderful time.

We had several parties, an awesome choir concert, and my recitals before Christmas. And we had the most lovely Christmas time down in Houston with Steve's family, cooking Christmas dinner all together, and just hanging out, and making gingerbread houses! After Christmas, parts of my family were here with us each weekend, and since they live so far away, we were especially happy that they could come. :) Kristin, who I hope will get to move here someday, and Stephen, who got to come twice and is so interesting and artistic, and such fun to have in town, and my parents, who had never had the chance to come up here since we got married! I got to show mom my favorite cupcake shop, we shopped for clothes for all the girls at the Harrold's going-out-of-business sale, and we took dad to our gym to swim laps and sit in the hot tub together, and he swam a mile!! We got to take them to our favorite restaurants, and they got to see our tall skinny house, and what we have been doing with it.

So, this past weekend was the last of the "holidays" for us. There are seasons for things, I guess. We have just had a nice long season of seeing people and celebrating. And we loved it and wouldn't have traded it for anything. But I am also glad now to have a season of rest, and simpler things, more lonely things. Like sunsets and warm baths and cups of tea and reading. And not so much talking. But practicing, yes. I am going to need to put in a lot of hours if my one little Chopin etude is going to be playable by spring, not to mention Bartok and Bach and my other things I'm working on. Not that I don't enjoy family and friends, but I feel ("...like butter, spread over too much bread.") such a compulsion to be alone and not visit with anyone for a while. I just want to think.

About languages, about Steve, about finally making my own clothes--that is going to start soon. About really practicing again, about having ideas again, about our new president. I do not know why his color is such a big deal to the media. Color should not matter. I know, it used to, and that was wrong, so now it's a big deal that it didn't matter. But it is such a big deal that it doesn't, that it does. Or seems to. To some people. But I'm rambling. I guess that's allowed--it's my blog, afterall. What else would I do? There's my nod to Inauguration Day. It is a new season in our country as well. Every president's inauguration is historic and special. I congratulate President Obama, and our new First Lady and their little girls. The rest is for another post...

The bottom line is, I am exhausted and glad for a time of rest. So if I do not communicate very much with anyone in the next month or so, forgive me. I must take a break. :)