Day 352

Molly and the frosty path.

A decision to run only 3km, because of a late start to the morning.  And no breakfast, and no water either, having been forgotten.   So 3.19 over the frosty grass crunching beneath what aspire to winged feet, at 7.12 minutes per km. 

Two Christmas parties tonight, one at the home of our boys' oldest American friend, lovely, met his niece for the first time, little Madeleine, who reminded me so of Emma at two and a half, hardly any hair, those big blue eyes, wary of strangers but with a great sense of humour and a wonderful giggle.

Delicious food, and the discovery that there is another family which is noisier than ours when we are all together!  They have five children, missing just one for Christmas, he had to stay in Colorado because of the exorbitant price of a root canal process, which he bought instead of a ticket home, wise boy!  Lovely warmth, great-grandmother still driving her car, everyone happy to see one another, little sad stories, little happy stories, a typical family.

And then home, where Tim decided that he couldn't do another party, his shoulder has been bothering him all day for some reason, and so he said that I should go alone.  This is quite a thing, to go without your spouse, quite brave actually, and off I went, first buying a lovely bottle of red wine as a gift, from the local bottlestore, where the owner is so sweet and, when she heard I was taking it to a party, gift-wrapped it so beautifully, that I felt certain I had made the right decision. 

It was a lovely party, lots of talking to various people that I knew, easy as can be, and then a woman I was talking to asked me to dance, and we danced the rest of the evening, to the live band, composed of middle-aged people, husbands and wives of those present, aptly named Mid-Life Crisis.  They sang many Van Morrison songs tonight, and I remembered how much I love to dance!  That flowing movement, arms and legs in unison, free-spirited carousing, energised, twirling, individualistic, hair flying, feet bare, arms wide as hips jiggle, shoulders rise and fall, happy face smiling at your partner!

A self-portrait done this afternoon in a few minutes' breather.  I look like an old Janis Joplin!