I’ve always heard that what you are doing New Year’s is an indication of what you will be doing throughout the coming year.  If that is true, 2009 is going to be a very interesting year.  Pat and I spent Christmas at home with our newly reacquired family… my cousins Dana, Nanette and Michelle (along with her husband, Mark).  As many of us are forced to do, I had cut off most of my family from my life so that I don’t have to deal with the strain of leaving my spouse at home for family gatherings, etc.  Most of my family has proven that they are tainted by the religious right’s attempts to keep homosexuality an “abomination”.  I don’t have time for that from my own family.  I have always had my family of choice and they are my support and community.  But as God would have it, God has brought family members back into my life.  One a lesbian, the others straight but not narrow… and we are becoming really close.  But I digress… back to New Year’s… 

I had been suffering with bronchitis since before Christmas… but the family made plans to gather in Columbus, MS so even though I was not fully recovered, we set out to MS.  We arrived late Tuesday evening at the home of friends, Kay and Cheryl.  They, along with cousin Dana, helped us get the coach parked and plugged in, and then we all went to dinner.  Now I should tell you that Kay and Cheryl live at Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary.  So the evening was filled with the sound of Lions roaring… a surreal experience to sleep to the sound of lions.  Then New Years Eve, we all gathered at Dana’s music store to play in the New Year.  Dana is an incredible guitarist and the rest of us just try to keep up with her.  Pat sang, I played bass guitar (because I still was not healthy enough to sing), Kay and another friend, Scotty, played rhythm guitar, Cheryl played drums; cousin Nanette played keyboard and cousin Michelle, played her flugelhorn and trombone.  After Kay and Cheryl left around 9:00, Michelle took over the drums.  We rocked until around 11:00 p.m. central time and since most of us were from the eastern time zone (where it would have already been midnight) we decided it was really the New Year and decided to call it quits.  So we started the 20 mile trek to Cedarhill.  Not knowing that it was so far to Cedarhill where we were staying, Michelle and Mark phoned us in the lead car that she needed gas… so we turned around and our car caravan drove back to the Shell station, where the clock struck midnight.  So we hugged each other to celebrate the New Year while pumping gas.  Then we decided that we were a little hungry and drove back to town to go to the Waffle House.  We got there just in time, cause evidently it is the only place open for food all night in Columbus, MS…  just as we were seated, the place started to fill up!  After eating, we decided to go get groceries.  It isn’t as nuts as it sounds.  Mark is an incredible chef and was planning to cook for us the next day.  So we needed groceries!  Now, Wal-Mart is the only grocery store open at 2:00 a.m. so you guessed it!  We drove to Wal-Mart.  When we got there, the produce department was roped off for cleaning and we had to get permission to get Mark in there…  we all laughed and joked about our New year’s day trip to Wal-Mart before taking everyone back to Cedarhill for the night.  Aren’t friends and family the best!!

We spent the next three days exploring the Animal Sanctuary by day and playing with the Marshall family “chick” band by night!  Pat started playing guitar again, I continued learning bass guitar and Michelle, drums.  What a blast!  So based on our New Year’s experience, I have no idea what 2009 holds in store!!  But it should be fun!! J