So this is the new year...

When we got to the cabin it had been almost 14 hours of driving and traffic and ham n' cheese sandwiches and xm radio and windshield wiper blades and confederate flag license plates. It was dark and we had found this tiny wooden house by sheer luck. No cell phones, no directions, no address, just Charlie's very capable instructions, which as time passed we slowly lost hope in. But down the drive way next to the sign and two mailboxes, it was right where he said it would be. A tiny one bedroom cabin with a fireplace, eat in kitchen, and fixture above the southwestern ranch style bed appropriately labeled "mood lighting". Sue had left a basket on the table with a hand written note and a bottle of wine. On the label there was a picture of a knight on his stead taking the hand of a fair maiden. The note read something like, enjoy the hot tub. She stopped short of leaving a copy of "What to expect when you're expecting" or a wedding magazine with pages already earmarked. I wouldn't put it past her. It was the bottle of wine that put it over the edge, it may have been called moonlight encounter, I still have the bottle somewhere. But we had arrived and the welcome was perfect. Quiet. Pure unadulterated peace. Noel Noel. And the angels sang. It was Christmas eve and the temperature was dropping outside. It all seemed the beginning of something new rather than the end of another year. 2006 was coming to a close and yet I didn't feel any different. I made no resolution, no cry of regret. BJ and I talked about goals we have. He wants to learn to pick locks, I want to run a marathon. I want to go to Vermont again. I had a dream last night that Kansas and Erin met us there because it was someone's wedding. Then Kansas told me about pickled peanuts that burned people's mouths off and would BJ like to go have some in Alabama some time? What dreams may come. We'll be ready. But no pickled peanuts for me.