Celebrate the Ordinary Day

Happy New Year.

News Year's Day brings football and gatherings.

We are still at our daughter Robin's in California. We fly home on Wednesday. Jim and I have been here since December 15; our daughter Karen arrived on the 21st. There are five in Robin's family, We ARE a gathering.

Robin proposed several outings for the day but there were no takers. We all wanted to "hang" as her boys say. So, we enjoyed an ordinary family day. The boys played x-box, and an occasional computer game. Jamie loaded a movie, the Mummy, on my iPod for the plane ride home. I worked on email. Karen watched a movie with ten year old Scottie. Robin walked.Jim and Brad checked out the various Bowl games.

About noon Robin organized everyone into a crew for a family project. A small old deck was in the way of a larger basketball space. It needed to go! So within three hours they had demolished it. I reneged on that and cooked instead.

As I watched the work progressing I realized how significant this was. We live on the east coast, 3000 miles away - our being here is an event. For us being part of an ordinary day is special.

Robin asked me to take some pictures of the crew at work - - for the family albums.

For the New Year I hope to keep my sights on the value of the ordinary and celebrate it.