This week
marked our fourteenth chance to stand side by side as a new year began. We’ve spent
some of those years in the company of friends, some at work, and some in the
privacy of our home, but each has been memorable in its own way.
This New Year’s Eve (daytime)
was ridiculously frustrating from start to finish, but it improved
significantly once evening arrived. I made a special dinner of mini BBQ pizzas,
my new favorite salad, and healthy brownies for us to enjoy at home together. The
weather was cold, windy, and snowy – and not in the pretty snow globe kind of
way, so we weren’t sad to be at home.
After dinner, we set the bar
pretty high for a party: we finished taking down the Christmas decorations. We completed
our mission with about three hours to spare before 2026 arrived. And then it’s possible
we took a short nap. WOW! We are the coolest, for sure.
We pulled it together for our
midnight celebration, though. Party glasses, sparkling grape juice, and a dog
who did not appreciate the fireworks in the neighborhood. (And we think the 6
on the TV looks like a 4.)
New Year’s Day was blissful. We had
the day off together and enjoyed sleeping in a little, egg casserole for
breakfast, and much rest time. I worked hard on editing 2025 scrapbooks so they’re
ready to order as soon as a sale hits.
Ten years ago, we did a New Year’s Day hike at a state park. It was story-laden, and ultimately
we learned that we really like the concept of a New Year’s Day hike, but we
also enjoy solitude. So even though we live about a half hour from a state park
that was hosting a hike yesterday, we decided to skip it and do our own hike
instead. We bundled up, and the moment Lexi saw her leash, she couldn’t contain
her joy – for about a solid hour. She was thrilled to hike. The Bernese
in her energetically welcomes the snow.
What a joy it was to have the
trails entirely to ourselves and to explore spots we’ve trekked before and
new areas we have never seen. Frozen rivers, the white tails of deer bounding
farther into the distance, bright red cardinals flitting through the air, snow
covered ground, and crisp air. My goodness. What a gift God gave us in a beautiful
day, despite the cold!
Ryan watched the Rose Bowl game,
which turned out to be a good day for Indiana. While he watched TV, I started
reading a new novel. It has been a long time since I have made time to read
anything at all – fiction or nonfiction.
And then we wrapped up our
lovely holiday by sitting down with our overflowing box of 2025 memories and
sorting through it. This is a tradition I started by myself before we married
and we’ve kept it up – although I think in 2024 it was something like JUNE
before we had time to sit down and sort through the box. Let’s not make that
mistake again.
Anyway, if you’re new here, the memory
box is just an old photo box from Hobby Lobby that sits on the shelf in our
closet. Throughout the year we toss in all kinds of memories: trail maps,
menus, tickets, brochures, notes…you get the idea. Then on New Year’s Day, we
sort through it, reminisce about the year we just had, and keep the pieces that
are the most meaningful to us. We put the empty box back on the shelf and begin
collecting all over again.
It’s one of my favorite
traditions and gives us a chance to appreciate the goodness of God in the
memories we’ve made!
First days are special to me –
first days of anything. And the first day of 2026 did not disappoint.
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