Hello 2019.
I don’t care much about a new year, aside from the fact that I’ll be turning 50 in August. I haven’t cared much about Xmas for years, although I've enjoyed it more since I figured out it was largely because the holiday just hasn’t been the same since my grandmother, and later my grandfather, died. This holiday season was was vastly different from the last 12 in that I didn’t spend it with my in-laws; it was just me and my wife. It’s not that we’ve had a falling out with them; we saw them before and after. It was because her little brother is now living in Canada, so she decided she wanted to start a Xmas tradition of our own.
Sounded good to me. And it was.
My wife thought it would be good to have tamales on Xmas day. Why? Because they represent happy childhood memories for me. I grew up on the Mexican border. No one in my family made tamales, but it was a tradition for many of the folks around us to spend Xmas eve making them, and eating them all of Xmas day. We usually had 3 or 4 neighbors drop plates off at my grandparents’ home, and more often than not, they were wonderful.
A friend here in WI recommended a Mexican restaurant in Madison, and we decided to get a dozen tamales from them. However, come 12/24/18, they were sold out. And I mean at 11:00 am. So, we decided to try a Mexican grocery store where they make their own tortillas.
Oh, damn.
I cried when I took my first bite of one of their tamales. I wasn’t blubbering, but I was choked up on emotion as my childhood came rushing back in the best possible way. Those things were amazing. Loved them. I expect to get more on a semi regular basis (they aren’t exactly healthy), and I hope it becomes a tradition.
New Year’s Eve was quiet. I don’t drink anymore, and I’ve never been one to go out on NYE. I was in bed shortly before midnight and fell asleep shortly thereafter. I didn’t mark the occasion at all.
My next album, Love Songs and Lullabies, will be available soon. Work has begun in earnest on the next collection to be released on 8/9/19. My novel and accompanying audio book will be self-published this year.
Huh. It’s almost like I’m busy or something.