Everyone has something that they do for new years. Some little tradition, or habit, or a silly little mark of the new year. I have three and I won't be able to do two of them this year, this is going to be really strange.
The one that really starts it off for me is Joshua Tree with my peeps. We drive out and camp in the desert for a week, rock climbing, hiking, and brushing off the stress of the last year. It is cleansing and rejuvenating at the same time, and as a side bonus I usually loose about 5 pounds. This year I'm in HI...two thousand miles away from that beautiful trip and I feel every mile.
In an effort to reclaim some of that rest, I'm taking the pup with me hiking tomorrow. Supposedly there are some really beautiful trails on Oahu, and I'm setting off to find one that I like...keep me in your prayers so I don't die or get horribly lost.
The second thing is a silly thing. I always watch the Rose Parade in my PJs. Sometimes my sister or Mom is there but Mom usually watches it live, I watch it when I come back from camping. Today I watched it on YouTube, on the right day, but sadly in work clothes. However there was a distinct lack of sister or parent, and it seemed a little less fun and silly, and there was no popcorn. What there was, was gorgeous floats, silly bands (yes, I'm talking about you Stamford) and beautiful horses!
It is always astonishing to see the designers bring seeds, flowers and grasses to life as animals and this year two really blew my mind - Indonesia and the one by the financial company "So close and yet So-fari". The silly factor was hit dead on with the Trader Joe's cheese city, and Public Storage's aliens. And as always some made me cry...thanks so much City of Hope. You and all your wishing trees made me get all teary, and I didn't have any tissues.
The last thing I do every year to ring in the new year is take the train with my sister, friends and nieces up to Chinatown for Chinese New Year. We shop, we eat at the same little Pho restaurant, see the parade, and end the day on Olivera street buying sweets off of the street vendors and their colorful carts.
Oahu has a Chinatown, and I hear the new year is a big deal, but somehow I just don't think it will be the same. It is so much fun to spend time with the girls, and see all the dancers and pageantry, somehow I don't think I will experience it quite the same way by myself - but I'm going to try. Maybe there will be food trucks, or little trinkets I can buy to send home to them, I will have to explore...I love to explore.
As much as it feels different this year, the new year has started and will continue without my markers of time. I guess it is time to forge ahead and create new markers, try new things, and see new places...even though my heart is in the dessert, or in my PJs, or on a train in another city, I guess it will just have to catch up.
...Nature girl
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