ah the holidays are upon us...

i really do love this time of year. i am in a new place this year. well new after a long time being gone. the air is crisp, a light breeze, and it feels like snow is just around the corner. It is not NYC yet I like it here now at this time of year. There is a different sort of noise in the background than NYC. No horns, sirens or clamping of feet...all good in their own way, truly. But now for me it is the swoosh of my car wheels on the blacktop, the rustle of tall trees in my back yard talking, the crunch of brown leaves under my black boots (you can take the gal out of NYC alas NYC, a tad of it, always stays within the gal) in the driveway, and the echo of a neighborhood dog announcing the day to come. Now back in the area where I grew up I am constantly flooded, at times overwhelmed, with memories, flashes of the past moments of my life. Mostly good, some not so much bad as they are complex. For the first time in a long time I am confident in my choices. The choice to move back here for a better job, to be with family, to pursue my writing is the best one I have made in a long time, maybe ever. Solid ground beneath my legs I can see and feel and that is priceless. This time of year also makes me think about a trip taken a long time ago around this time of year. I was 18, it was 1984 (please don't do the math!), with my parents, little brother, to florida to see grandparents, and this car! A 1971 Buick Special Stationwagon - can you imagine? Good times and Happy Holidays to me! It is the canvas for my Holiday from Hell story I am sharing with people this coming Tuesday at the Monti. http://www.themonti.org/
It started out as a trip from hell, for an 18 year old at least it was, and then turned into something amazing...when one least expects it...
I will post the story here someday...I have to tell you the writing of one's past, reliving and investigating one's past is so interesting, scarey and comforting all in rolled into a big ole emotional ball of craziness. I am liking it. Happy Holidays!