And Just Like That, We Are In A New Year

My nephew and his two girls, along with his girlfriend, were supposed to come and visit this Christmas season but plans changed the last minute. Our family in New Mexico was sad about the change but now look forward to seeing everyone this summer when the girls have more time off from school.

Even though our “Christmas Club” had fewer people than planned we still had a wonderful Christmas season. I’m actually sad it’s over now. I haven’t felt this way since I was a kid. The season started the day after Thanksgiving. We put up the tree. It took two days to decorate the house with the spirit of Christmas. I wanted to use all of the decorations I could find that were in bins and containers stacked in the garage. Plus a few more trinkets were purchased for holiday fun.

Christmas classics such as “Carol of the Bells,” “Holy Night,” and anything sung by Nat King Cole played endlessly to keep the momentum going. Before the holiday arrived, there was word about classical music concerts being held by candlelight. The advertisements constantly popped up on my social media timelines and I took that as s sign to purchase tickets to enjoy an event featuring Christmas music with Joe. The classical music format, the candles, the wine, and the romantic setting all produced a cozy, classy, and magical holiday evening.

I get so tired when cooking Christmas dinner. Mom overcooked, as she does every year, no matter what I say, and everyone wore matching t-shirts spotlighting the Grinch I purchased at Walmart. Later that evening, like many others nationwide, we went to the movies and saw The Color Purple. The movie was great. I dozed off a bit because I had been moving since early that morning, and once I sat in the comfy movie chairs, with the lights out, something happened.

By the way, my favorite two top gifts are Ce’ Noir, perfume by Beyonce, and the Delta Sigma Theta Diamond Diva 12 Piece Makeup Brush Set with a Bag. Each makeup brush features my sorority’s symbols with a thick diamond band around each brush to make putting on makeup even more glamorous. Thank you, babe.

New Year’s Eve was a last-minute decision to go to the En Vogue concert, and by golly wow, I am so happy Joe and I went. This was super fun. The DJ played all of the best hits, and then the group came out looking gorgeous, plus sounding like they just stepped out of a time machine from the 90s.

On New Year’s Day, I was supposed to take down the holiday decorations, instead, Joe built a fiery crackling fire in the yard, and we ate greens, black-eyed peas, rice, and sweet bread as part of a tradition my black family with southern roots have engaged in all of my life.