The first real day of 2014

Did you know that today was considered the most depressing day of the year? It's because kids go back to school, people go back to work, and vacation comes to a crashing halt. Frigid temperature across this nation this year probably added to the depression.
Although it wasn't depressing, today was all those things to me--the day I planned to get back to routine, to do my yoga, to drink less wine, to get real work done at my desk. It only worked out medium well.
By coincidence, this is also Twelfth Night or Epiphany or, as my neighbor calls it, Little Christmas. It marks the night the Three Wise Man arrived with their gifts for the Baby Jesus, signifying the great gift God has given his people--the gift of a new life, led by a new savor.
I remember from my childhood the tradition of a neighbor who was a surrogate aunt for me. We each put a small branch of greenery on the fire and made a silent wish for the coming year. It's become a tradition in my family, and now we've roped neighbors Jay and Susan into it. So tonight, we each burned a branch (okay, mine missed the flames twice and Jay finally had to put in it for me--wonder if that invalidates my wish?). We had a jolly good time and had a supper of the beef casserole I mentioned last night on Potluck with Judy (http://potluckwithjudy.blogspot.com/2014/01/cooking-up-storm.html), So good that Jordan and I kept sneaking back for "just a little bit more" but it will feed Cox's Army.
And the reason I got fairly well off schedule today was that it too me most of the morning to make the casserole. The fellowship of family and friends was well worth it, and I'll make up the work another day. But, alas, not tomorrow. Since Epiphany is over, my task for tomorrow is to take down Christmas, always a sad chore.
So tonight I have the indoor lights on the mantel and buffet blazing and a fire in the fireplace. From my desk I can see the festive lights Jay and Susan keep in their arbor, and if I roll my chair to the other side of the office I can see their multi-colored lights on the front porch. One last night of Christmas magic. I love it.

Twelfth Night

Tonight is Twelfth Night, or Epiphany, the night when Christians recognize that God came to earth as a human being in the form of Jesus Christ. This revelation is particularly tied to the Magi, and I'v always thought of Twelfth Night as the night the Magi brought their gifts of frankincense, myrrh, and gold to the Baby Jesus. When I tried to explain that tonight to Jacob, he fixed me with a long look and said, "I don't know what you're talking about." (We've got to get that child to Sunday school!) But Twelfth Night is also the night when you must take down the last of the Christmas decorations, lest you run into bad luck.

When I was a child, neighbors semi-adopted me, showering me with gifts and attention. I called them Auntie E. (Emma Elizabeth) and Uncle Jack, and she, always the grand lady, had a tradition of each person burning a small branch of the Christmas tree on Twelfth Night and making a secret wish. We've done that in my family ever since. Jacob came into Tree Trimming in early December asking "Are we going to burn a branch tonight?" So tonight he was most excited that we were actually going to do that. From the pictures above, Jacob was obviously the focus of our celebration. It's getting harder and harder to find fresh greens, since everyone has fake trees, but Susan and Jay had a green wreath, and she brought the greens and took part in our burning ceremony--Jay was out of town. It's a nice way to put an end finally to the holiday season. And, fittingly, Christian, Jordan, and I put the decorations back up into the attic for another year.
As I said, I've been revising my second mystery since my mind was already in that world. But last night, to my horror, I disovered I only had nine chapters, maybe half the novel, on my hard drive; then I discovered on a zip drive a file titled No Neighborhood for Old Women revised. Guess what? I'd already revised it once and maybe done a better job. So now I'm starting all over, checking for extra words, outlining by chapter--nice that I have something to keep me busy. I'm actually not too upset--the more I go over it,the better I'll make it. I still feel that I don't have control of the plot, and I can pinpoint things that need to change.