I have never been one to wish a day away as I feel that we should cherish every day that we have on this Earth.
But 2014 has been an extremely difficult year in many various aspects and it cannot end soon enough. I have never had a year that has been so challenging and which has fragmented my life as glass splintering. I am sure at some point in time I will be able to look at this year and see that it will have made me stronger and that I would have learned something; but, for now it is still too close and I cannot do that objectively.
So for now I say - good riddance 2014 - I don't want to relive any of this year.
I went into the city yesterday to meet a friend and could not believe how busy Grand Central was.
In the morning there were more people around than should be at 11:30 and I was so glad that I had a MetroCard to get on to the subway because the lines were extremely long for people purchasing one.
Then in the evening Grand Central was again extremely busy with tons of people walking, meeting folks and with luggage. I needed to dodge folks, walk around rolling carts and people who just stand and stare. What really surprised me was that the train was not full - there were empty seats in all of the train cars.
So who were those people in Grand Central - what were they doing there?
In the last couple of weeks I have finished four books and I began my fifth last night.
I have passed on these books to a friend of mine - so when I see her on Tuesday at they gym I will give her the book I finished last night. I am a great believer in "passing it on" - there are few books that I want to keep in my library as it is rare that I will re-read a book.
I feel that it is respectful of the book and author to pass it on to an individual or to donate it - let someone else have the pleasure.
It is a tragedy that last week two of New York's finest were assassinated, finally we New Yorkers are noticing.
I was brought up to respect policemen - they were there to protect us. More than once I have walked up to a policeman to ask for directions and felt safe to do so. I am in awe of any individual who decides to go into this profession - to know that they put their lives on the line on a daily basis for us. I am not sure that most of us would or could do that.
Stop and think of these individuals - thank them for their service and give them the respect they deserve.
I have begun the cleaning and organizing for the New Year.
It is a tradition that my Mother instilled in me, her exact words were, "Never let the New Year catch you dirty". So to that end I clean my house, I organize things and I cull my home of items I no longer need, want or use and donate them.
There is a sense of peace that comes from this process, the order that gets done; it is what I am about: organization, details and cleanliness.
Some may view this as a burden - I view it as a salvation.
It is December 26th - the day after Christmas and many people are at the stores for the after Christmas sales.
Not me - I am home relaxing after two days of cooking and getting ready for Christmas dinner I was not looking to jump out of bed and do much. I didn't even set the alarm - when I wake up, then I will get up - I don't do that very often.
I will put away the dishes and utensils used for Christmas dinner, I will have a relaxing breakfast while I read the newspapers and watch the news. I will then bake some more pumpkin bread, another bread pudding and a couple of more bottles of coquito and call it a day.
This is one day that it is okay to be somewhat lazy.
Let us not forget the reason why we celebrate today.
Merry Christmas to all.
