It is quite cold in my house as we wait for the snow to begin falling. So cold that my hands are having a hard time typing this message. I need fingerless gloves and a quill and a candle dripping wax.

We are quiet on New Year’s Eve. If we get together with friends, it’s usually just a small gathering. But tonight, it’s just the two of us. Last year we were asleep well before the clock struck twelve.

When we were children, my sisters and I would play Monopoly on New Year’s Eve and listen to the top album count down, our cheeks red and burning from the cold of the day’s skiing. Sometimes we would go out into the cold night and toboggan down a long icy driveway, or a hill leading to a lake. It was thrilling!

But now, eight hours before the new year comes to my home, I am cold and quiet and looking for a warm corner and book to read and so I will wish you a happy new year in your home. May it be filled with peace, love, and enlightment.