It's 1925. The sun is setting on the Mediterean Sea. A yacht, "The Gilded Vessel" has just set sail, and there has been a murder...
That was the scene for a murder mystery party the Bishop and I went to on New Years Eve. It was really fun. I didn't know what to expect, but I was excited to get dressed up and have a date with the Bishop. The girls got to have one of their all time favorite babysitters who is home from college, so they were in hyper mode. As the week started off, I was sick, so I wasn't sure if we'd even make it. I think the lure of getting to wear a sparkly blue flower in my hair helped inspire me to get better. There were 7 other people there, so it was a nice size crowd and everyone got into their parts delightfully. I found a dress in my storage that I wore in 1987 in a play about 1937--so I could be an heiress in 1925. Close enough, right? I just pulled the dress up to my knees to make it a more flapper style length. I found a vest for the Bishop on clearance at the mall. He already had a hat and the girls dug the bow tie out of the dress up box for him. It was great food, great company and fun to get out and do something we don't normally do. It was also fun for the Bishop to go somewhere where he was EXPECTED to hang up his Bishop hat and just be himself. We like places like that.
We were home by 9:30 so that our babysitter could head over to a dance and we also wanted to ring in the new year wi
th the girls. I bought some confetti poppers, and we watched the DVD concert of The Killers at Royal Albert Hall (FAN-FREAKING-TAS-TIC!...if you like The Killers) and of course a little bit of Dick Clark at Time Square. We counted down about 10 for Youngest. Then the girls played in the confetti and we sent Youngest off to bed. Middle made it about another hour(when the ball dropped "Live" in New York) and then Oldest hung in to the very last. She got bored watching the concert with us, so she was reading and watching the clock. As soon as she was down for the night, us old people went straight to bed. After all, the sooner to bed, the longer you can sleep in, right? I'm definitely on the older side of night life now...
January is historically not my favorite month, so I can't say that I am actually excited about the actual New Year's celebration. This year I am trying to be optimistic and hoping that January won't be as bleh as it normally is. I also have some things to look forward to for 2010: I am going on a girls trip to Indianapolis in April and we are taking a family vacation to Utah in July. It's always good to have things to look forward to, they give you hope.
I was thinking about 2009 and I have to say it was a very good year for us. We did a lot of things that we said we wanted to do, but hadn't done. We got out and saw the state, we traveled, we spent time with family, we had fun times with friends, we took on some new challenges (i.e. guitar and dance for the Bishop and I), and we continued to be healthy and have all that we need. Financially, I regret all the expense of the travel I did, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually I don't regret it at all. Being there when my nephew was born was a life moment- I will treasure that experience that I was able to have with my sister, my brother in law, my mom and my sister in law. And being able to paint some trim and do some babysitting to help my family felt good as well. They have all been working so hard on the inn and sacrificing so much that I needed to do something. I will also never forget a midnight ride in the mini as my very pregnant sister navigated us through Boston in June--it was very kind of her to reinact a scene from the
Italian Job for my amusement. And even though he was sick, I'm so glad we took the Bishop to see Metropolis. I'm also glad he was well for our trip to Chicago for the Harry Potter exhibit. Some of my favorite times though are the summer nights when Andy calls and asks what we are doing and then he brings his family over and the Bishop and Andy hook up the zip line and let the kids zoom across the yard while Amy and I talk about what giant kids our husbands are together. Then we all play Rock Band while the kids run around and have a good
time. It's simple, but it's fun.
I like moments like that. I like sitting on the couch with a little girl snuggled up next to me reading. Or sitting in the bathroom listening to a young girl's concerns about not being "normal" because she doesn't want to wear make-up yet. I like coming into the kitchen to see a note on Middle's blackboard that says, "Please feel free to draw on my chalkboard." (with an arrow to show us the spot where we are supposed to draw). I like lying down each night and hearing the Bishop say, "I love you, do you know how awesome you are? You are the best." It's his attempt to subconsciously improve my self-esteem. He's been working on it for 16 years now, I think it finally might be working. I like my Sunday afternoon phone calls to my parents, where my mom and I laugh over books, movies, or silly things my kids are doing and my dad lets me know all about the weather and what rides he's taken on his motorcycle.
Day after day, week after week, month after month, it's these simple things that make up a year. With a few big adv
entures to shake things up a bit. When I get to the end of my life, and I look back, I hope that what I will see is a lot of time snuggled next to someone, a lot of laughing with friends and family, a lot of time working hard, time holding the Bishop's hand and just being next to his side, and a lot of time being at peace with the blessings I have been given and the work I've tried to do with the talents I have. And may there be a little adventure thrown in just for kicks.
Happy New Year everyone!
--The Bishop's Wife
