“For unto us a child is born…” Isaiah 9:6
“The pleasure of a great meal is doubled when shared with one whose company you treasure”- Pelagia
“Your smile is the best curve to make one’s life staright”- Pelagia
Happy MMXIV! That’s how our friends in ancient Rome would write it, otherwise known as the 2014th year of Anno Domini. Did you know that the earliest recorded festivities celebrating a new year’s arrival date back some 4,000 years? And did you further know that the Ball dropping at 1 Times Square in New York City was first held on December 31, 1907 to welcome 1908?
Can you name the two years that the Times Square Ball didn’t drop since that initial drop in 1907 until today?
Try 1942 and 1943.
But let’s look at 2013. How was yours?
Mine was fast. Very. Fast.
It was like Time sat behind the wheel of my life’s sedan with a lead foot. With eyes wide I watched as a passenger as life blurred by like telephone poles on the side of the road.
No excuses here but was I surprised to see that my last blog post was in May. Between a new job and moving and traveling and medical matters and family events and etcetera, 2013 was gone in a blink of an eye.
That doesn’t mean I havent been eating. I have. I simply havent been writing about eating. But while eating I’ve also been musing. So I wanted to take a moment and share some musings of mine on food and love and friends and family as we close out 2013 and step into 2014.
You are going to hear a lot about New year resolutions. Positive life changes. Exercise. Better behaviors. New starts. But as a Marriage and Family Therapist I’m going to share with you a resolution that is simple, achievable and a recipe for bringing cheer to life. 2013 was the year that unto us a grandaughter was born. I remember the morning this holiday season when our daughter was leaving for the long drive home after Christmas. Her baby, my grandaughter needed to be fed prior to departure abd I held our little princess in my arms bottle feeding her around 4 a.m. Yes, 4 a.m. She drank hungrily but had stopped feeding for just a moment, locking eyes with mine and smiled. I had forgotten how in love one falls all over again while holding a new grandchild. Babies are truly the kiss of God’s sweet grace. But that moment reminded me of a simple truth that carries across every year. A recipe if you will for good cheer in 2014.
All our meals and fine dining and exploration of recipes and restaraunts lose substance unless shared with others. Friendship with food is the secret to life’s balanced diet. In 2014, take the hand of those in your circle of life and together enjoy the world of food, cheer and song. Your life and theirs will be better for it. And don’t forget that your smile is the one curve that will help make your world straight.Thank you to all of you here and abroad who have been a part of my readership. To all of you I wish a wonderful and magical New Year.
Próspero 2014!
Prosit Neujahr
Feliz Ano Nuevo 2014!
Chu Shen Tan
Che il tuo 2014 sia pieno di tranquillita’ e serenita’
Happy New Year!!!