Ooops. No walk. No swim. But somehow I managed to take seven miles worth of steps! A successful family holiday party is now complete. With Frank’s untiring help, the house is cleaned up. The eldest attendee, my Uncle Norman. The youngest attendee, my grand niece Lucy. Hooray! I rose early and got right busy setting up. My younger brother arrived at 1:00 to help, and at 2:00 the guests arrived. Four generations! All day on my feet, and it was worth it. Everyone seemed very happy and brought delicious things and I felt the gratitude of a tradition continuing. And no politics. Especially grateful for that. I took a walk out to the compost earlier today. It was freezing, and I couldn’t get the container open to put the compost in. But I did get to stop by the brook and appreciate the icy blue and take a breath of gratitude. A cold breath.