December 31, 2009 -- Merida another year ends well

We are sitting in the office, having a drink to celebrate the new year's coming, but sad because Marilla and Rhodri left this morning. They've been visiting here since Christmas day and it's been wonderful. They are young and in love and happy about everything, including their upcoming move to Boston. Rhodri has a new job beginning the middle of January with a firm he's excited to be part of and Marilla will hopefully work out something with her firm to work remotely, but if not, has some ideas to try something different for awhile. They have a few contacts that will be helpful with choosing areas to live, but mainly they are leaving a full and varied social life (and many generations of family) behind until they create a new one.

While here, we dragged them to Dzibilchaltun and Uxmal to appreciate the Mayan ruins (and we learned some things ourselves about the math of Uxmal that clearly relates to the lunar calendar).

But mostly, we sat around speculating and postulating about the new life possibilities for these two young people. We all learned Canasta (and something about our competitive selves as we played) and enjoyed friends here and new dining experiences (who'd put huitlacoche which is a corn fungus on spicy peppers stuffed with a crab and shrimp mixture?? but it was delicious!!).

And so with the new year beginning and lives in flux, we pray for love and peace throughout the world, between all peoples, and more riotous good times as we carom towards December 21, 2012, the predicted end of the world Mayan style. We anticipate loud and wonderful fireworks tonight in all directions. It seems that every village, town, and square in the peninsula celebrates with fireworks around midnight and it makes for about 10 minutes of noise that it just fabulous, not like noise, but like millions laughing.