What Were You Doing New Years?

What were you doing new years eve?

We don't mean to boast, but we enjoyed a multi-course meal 

served at the only best table in the house. It was an opportunity for us to

get dolled up, practice our best manners (since we're certain many formal dining situations are in our very near future) and not have to worry about interrupting other diners.

Only the finest dining establishments have original artwork gracing their walls, right?

Everyone was just tickled pink with the elegant soiree.

Everyone thought this was such a cool idea and did not balk at all when told they must wear a tie. (For real, Rick, if you're reading this, you were a GREAT sport about it).

Nothing says "love" like having a chewed and spit up piece of meat handed to you by a child. It also adds a touch of class to any meal!

This dripping wet little guy has not yet been inducted to the "Manners of the Week Club", which gave us all some good muffled laughs.

There was after-dinner dancing. Wearing our fancy frocks that billow at every swirling turn made us feel like the high-society members we are not.

After the formal festivities concluded (within sixty minute's time), we slipped into something a little more comfortable (like flannel pj's) and played half a game of Busytown Memory game. Half, because there are 40 too many cards to try and match if one is playing with three children, five and under. Perseverance is in short supply when playing table games.

These memories are sweet, sweet, sweet. Not perfect, but sweet. Even though I was carrying around an attitude and my darling husband was trying to avoid the chill radiating from it...even though there was chewed up food and whiny resistance about having to use good manners...even though I was wishing I was at another party, a grown up kind...even though we couldn't even finish up one game of matching...EVEN THOUGH it was not perfect, it was pretty darn close because we were all together, all healthy and had not a worry on the horizon. 

I came across this blog this week. I do not often get to travel around to other blogs due to time constraints, yet I am certainly thankful I happened into this one. It is written by a woman who's sweet boy is now in Heaven due to an unexpected creek rising during a flood this past year.  It could just as easily have been us experiencing the horrible loss. It could be us someday. Instead of letting her beautifully-written words produce fear, I leaned in, read closer and let them remind me to soak in the gift of life I have around me. It might not be perfect, but I can put my arms around the imperfect, and they around me and really, what more could I ask for?