Coming To An End

It's December, 2009. I love this month, especially the scents of winter--mixture of dark chocolate, wine, evergreen, and fires. I was actually in a store the other day and checked out this new fragrance. It had tobacco and vanilla as primary notes. I really wanted to like it, but it was so linear. Of course I digress (this annoying habit of going off on rabbit trails will be on my New Years resolution list for sure). But anyway, back to the scents of winter--mmmm--the yumminess of cookies, pies, and breads baking. It's the only time of year I actually like to bake. It reminds me of what the holidays should be.

Okay, another year almost gone, and what do I have to show for it? Well, for one, cutting down on extravagance--taking it back to the basics. I'm doing a lot of donating, throwing out, and reorganizing. I am really sick over all the "stuff." But it's so hard, because most of what I have, I have either received as gifts or remind me of some time in my life. Well, it doesn't matter, I still feel the need to simplify. At least for the sake of my sanity. Now, I'm not getting rid of everything ... because, years from now, I want to be able to give my children a decent selection of coolness.

What else am I doing? Brushing up on French. I promised myself I will not go to a French-speaking country if I am not conversationally adept (or at least not going to embarrass myself). I can't believe I let this die. I mean, what was I thinking? And I am going to write more. At least for the sake of my children. I do this because there is little to no history of my family. So much was lost and I barely have pictures, letters, or objects reminding me of where/who I came from. It's as if there were Mom and Dad, but almost nothing before them. And that makes me feel lost. Thankfully, my grandfather is a great story-teller. I love hearing about his childhood--about his courting of my grandmother, the wars, the way things used to be. He's almost 88 years old, and still jogs every morning.