Reasons to be cheerful
It’s a time of year for looking back and looking forward.
My son spent Thanksgiving with his in-laws who lived a while in the States and who take the holiday very seriously. Everyone had to say what they gave thanks for that year. As a buttoned-up Brit, I felt this was all a bit much but, on this last day of the old year, I feel an uncharacteristic urge to join in.
This year had a landmark birthday (no, I’m not telling you which one) and, even though the celebrations were back in April, the memory of a wonderful day in a house packed with wonderful friends is still fresh. So the first thing to be grateful for is that we have a place we can entertain, friends to share it with, and music we can all dance to. It was special.
Landmark birthdays, though, do rather remind us that we are getting older and the year saw some minor, but debilitating, health issues get suddenly worse, which was a concern. The NHS, though, with all its problems, came through for me. Just over a month ago, I had surgery that has essentially sorted me out. Because things had snuck up on me, I hadn’t realised how bad they had got until they were fixed. It is truly wonderful to have my health back.
I know I’m overusing the word ‘wonderful’ but that’s sort of the point of this little essay. Life this year has, indeed, been wonderful, and I want to acknowledge this at a time when the world looks an increasingly dark and dangerous place. As we face the vicissitudes of an uncertain 2025, we all need to remember the good stuff we have now.
What else? If you were reading this blog back in February you will know that after many years of promising to visit the home of an Indian friend, we finally made the trip. It was, yet again, and in the literal meaning of the word, wonderful. Our friend had arranged a tour that took us to some remarkable places and showed us a world we had never seen before. We are so lucky to know such a kind and generous person. Take a bow, Veena!
Summer saw, even by our standards, a ridiculous amount of dancing. When it finally stopped raining, Londoners took to dancing open-air tango every weekend and often during the week as well. Those afternoons and evening are certainly something else to be thankful for.
Somewhere in all this, I seem to have found time to write. I started Burke and the War of 1812 around April and I’m in the final throes of editing now. How I move on with writing is definitely something to consider under the ‘looking forward’ category. Perhaps that’s something to blog about another week but, for now, however frustrating this writing business can be, the fact that I’m still able to string a sentence together is another thing to be grateful for.
So to the end of the year and Christmas. We spent it in a Victorian castle, bringing a bit of Xmas movie romance to real life and it was everything we could have hoped.
None of this would mean much without my beloved and our son. At this time of year we should all be thankful to be able to spend time with the people we love.
So that’s my Thanksgiving done for the year. I promise I’ll be back to my regular cynical self as soon as we’ve seen out 2024.
Happy New Year!