We’re more than 19 hours into 2025, a windy beginning to this new year with jets flying low over the house. They barely registered due to the din inside, as our large gang gathered.

There was a brunch with black-eyed peas and bagels, and then, after the cooking and eating and visiting, there was a piano to be played and a newspaper to be read.

That the first day be packed full seems in keeping with the general tenor of life these days, a life I’m grateful to have on this first day — and all the days — of the year.