2018 happened quickly – too quickly. On New Year’s Day 2019, I invited Dis and Dat to my house for turnip greens (for money) and peas (for peace) and we celebrated the upcoming year by talking about our best memories and our worst memories of the by-gone year. We all agreed that our best memory was a trip in June to Moss Point, Mississippi to a family reunion where we enjoyed a hot, humid day with cousins we hadn’t seen in years. Our worst memories involved other people, not ourselves, so in conclusion we faired well during the year.
As with each new year, we have a “do-over,” a chance to do everything bigger and better, a time to recommit and to disclaim those traits that need work and to make the year rewarding and meaningful. But with all the resolutions made – tried and discarded – we take a bit of 2018 with us into 2019. Rather than brood over our only accomplishment being growing another year older, I believe a cauldron list is appropriate. A cauldron list is akin to a Bucket List – one that requires making a wish list of new things and systematically checking them off when a wish is fulfilled. I have a cauldron list – much easier because I do something that I’ve never done before and then put the memories in my cauldron, stir, and simmer the consequences. To each memory, I add a little hot sauce and the hair of a toad to make the memories last. I can even repeat the experiences on my list because I never check anything off; it’s there to enjoy again and again if I choose.
My cauldron list is comprised of the new things I did within the year 2018 Anna Dominoes, proving that I finally read A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I have read several of Dickens’ novels but never one so moving as this tale of the French Revolution. I had just completed Les Miserables and The Count of Monte Cristo, and this trilogy provided me with a small amount of knowledge of French history. I’m sorry to say that my reading did not shed any light of how the French mind works or who made the first French Fries.
To start the year off with the EVENT of January, The Alabama Crimson Tide Football Team won the National Championship with an awesome touchdown in overtime. I did not play in the game but it was physically exhausting for me and undoubtedly remains the best game I never watched. I spent most of the game in the kitchen listening to the radio and Eli Gold.
February kicked off an odd assortment of medical tests lasting all year. Minus the cause and details, a summary includes a colonoscopy, CT Scan, three ultrasounds, a cataract diagnosis and a minor surgical procedure in December. In all the office visits, Same Day Surgical Facilities, Laboratories, and Radiology Clinics, I never could figure out how to type with three inch acrylic fingernails but DCH seems to hire only those with qualifying nails painted with glitter polish.
March blew in with a trip to Disney World with my nun friend where we were treated like VIPs by her Disney employed niece. We experienced the normal thrill rides, old and new, dined at fabulous restaurants, including an Irish Pub on St. Patrick’s Day, and watched stage shows and 3-D movies. The trip was a once in a lifetime experience but I was disappointed that the Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride was closed due to political correctness; Disney was taking out the scene with my favorite part: “throw me the Redhead!”
Spring melted into the summer months. In April, I visited a vineyard in Calera and drank a lot of wine and bought a T-shirt. My summer was spent teaching a class at Olli – Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – where I was reminded that teaching is a tremendous amount of work especially when the majority of the students are retired college professors who actually know more than I do. I researched the Hebrew people and the history and writings of the Old and New Testaments and was invited to attend the Jewish Synagogue in Tuscaloosa, Temple Emanu-El. I had the opportunity to do something that I always wanted to do – attend a Jewish Temple service. The Rabbi and the Jewish members were friendly and helpful explaining the service and welcoming me to participate in the service. I went again on Rosh Hashanah in September and Hanukkah in December and enjoyed the fellowship of the community, ate apples dipped honey and latkes and drank wine. I even bought a menorah and candles before I discovered that’s a lot of candles to burn in eight days. I now look forward to Purim.
I visited a Greet Orthodox Church in October when I attended the Greek Festival in Birmingham. We toured the church led by the priest, ate Greek food which I think was sheep and grape leaves, drank Greek wine and watch beautiful Greek gods dance the traditional folk dances. It was a memorable evening but I equate it with Christmas on the River – once is enough.
Thanksgiving is for turkey and family and we had that for sure. I attended a performance of Mosart’s Eine Kleine Nachmusik by the Tuscaloosa Symphony Chamber Orchestra at First Presbyterian Church. In the music I heard the voice of God in strings and the evening was a beautiful experience in a beautiful setting.
December brings Advent and Christmas with all the tradition and trimmings of the final month of the year. With the search for the best tree, careful selection, endless turning the tree in the stand to find the front, the tree always looks the same once decorated. As in the past, we celebrated with gumbo, Midnight Mass, breakfast casseroles and steaks for dinner. And I wore the same Christmas sweater bought by my mother from QVC in 1993. It was normal.
In 2018 I completed my three score and tenth trip around the sun. The day was nothing special other than celebrating with family and friends in a life filled with all the happiness and love that anyone could ask for. Dickens would say: “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” but it is easier to remember the good times knowing that “Nothing that we do is done in vain.” Today is the Epiphany, the coming of the Magi bearing gifts for the Christ Child. I have a gift for you on this day. Its not gold, frankincense, or myrrh; I want to give you a star. This star will guild you in the new year leading you with the brightness of hope, the calmness of faith, and the shining hope of enduring love. You have blessed my life by your presence and I will carry you in my heart into 2019. As David Copperfield learned from his aunt, “It’s in vain, Trot, to recall the past, unless it works some influence upon the present.” Our memories make us who we are, make the most of it. May God bless you.
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