New Year's Eve

Yesterday we drove to the Picnic Area and then walked along the beach to Fort Macon.  It was a beautiful, warm afternoon, and children and dogs were playing with equal exuberance down on the beach.  Martha spotted a dolphin out in the surf, leaping out of the water as exuberantly as those on shore.  And someone had written this in the sand near the Fort.  

We returned to the Picnic Area on the Elliott Coues Nature Trail, which winds through the maritime forest and then climbs up on the high sand dunes overlooking the beach.  It was a good day for a hike, and we covered about four miles in all.

This morning, I accomplished a goal I had been tentatively eyeing for a few days.  I realized that all I needed was a six-mile run to bring my total annual miles to exactly 800, more than in each of the past two years.  I like round numbers.  And I wanted to end this long, depressing, anxious year on a high note.  It turned out to be a perfect day and I accomplished this modest goal.  We have evolved some traditions over the years, and one of them for me is to total up my annual mileage and add it to the spreadsheet that I have maintained for the past 25 years.  I realize this sounds a little obsessive-compulsive, but it is somehow encouraging to see my cumulative mileage increase each year (31,352 as of today).

Another tradition we have is to read back all of the things we have been writing on the little blackboard in our kitchen during the year.  It is a way of remembering, of reviewing the sadness and the joy, the inspirational things we said to one another week after week, as we put an end to one year and begin another. 

Was 2020 the annus horribilis some are saying it was?  I read that in 1992, during a year-end address marking the 40th anniversary of her ascendancy to the throne of England, the queen famously said, “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.”  That sums up 2020 pretty well.  But with a Covid vaccine on the horizon, we are optimistic about the future. 

To all the readers of this blog, we wish you a Happy New Year and a less horrible 2021!

For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.