Happy "Edge of" 2007

This day, one of a few remaining before the new year, seems like a good time to post. My writing is rusty--it is slow going to manuever these words, like cogs and gears, into smoothly operative sentences.

It is worth it to try. This is the time of the year that I love best.

I love being on the cusp of something fresh: a mother remembering that she is also a woman, hunched over the bathroom vanity and slathering smokey makeup around her eyes before heading off to a grown-up dinner on the Inner Harbor; a toe poised above a steamy bath; an idea, snared during an afternoon walk and batting its wings in my mind before it is reborn on a page; the shell of the creme brulee before a fork cracks a dent.

The fields of my new year are planted with resolutions for a lifestyle change: no longer a tidy list of goals, but this time, affirmations for growth. I admit--I prefer the list. There is something so satisfying about etching a light check mark beside an intention: "I will lose five pounds" . . . check. But I need something more this year, something different. In 2007, I will remind myself of these things:

-Enjoy the "getting there."
-Live in the moment.
-Nod to the fear, and do it anyway.
-Moderation.
-And this proverb: "Liars begin by imposing upon others, but end deceiving themselves."

I think about the 2006 and I feel satisfied. It was an even keel year, despite all of the firsts: first day of kindergarten, first day of "preschool," first time back to out-of-the-home work after gig as SAHM, first class for my husband after receiving associate's degree (he is going for a bachelor's), first official city league soccer game. Steady, I think, is the way I would describe 2006. Steady eating out, steady routines, steady reality television consumption (loved, loved, loved Survivor, True Housewives of Orange County, Top Chef, and Project Runway), steady reading (favorite books: "Capote" by Gerald Clarke and "Willful Creatures" by Aimee Bender). Steady calm can be good--like on a richter scale!

Thank you for the emails and comments wishing my family a joyful holiday! I have loved following your lives through your blogs, and I am so proud to call so many of you friends!

Big kisses and hugs to you, along with wishes for a fabulous 2007!

P.S. New Julia Cameron book out: the third in The Artist's Way trilogy. I've been enjoying it this past week, but it's not as good as the others.