the festive period

Among my Xmas cards this year, I got one of these interesting letters, sent in lieu of a card.
Every new job, new child and so on was documented for another year.
I immediately thought, first "wish I had written one of these", then " this would make a very good blog!"
I told my daughter, and she said, "Why don't you do one yourself?" so here I am.
I had a very disorganised festive period this year, everything seemed to go too fast for me, and I just could not catch up........old age, I expect, but my first New Year's resolution was to be better next year.
I do enjoy Christmas and the New Year, and have very happy memories of the New Year especially.
My mother (Agnes, or Mrs Harrower to her acquaintances) was a gifted pianist and could accompany a singer in four or five keys. She often accomplished this in the course of one song at the New Year.
Everyone had "their song" for the New Year when they went to first foot.
My mother had four brothers working at the pit, and, since their friends and workmates knew they would be at their sister's house (she was the one with a piano) they all came to our house.
There seemed to be an unending stream of them for hours after midnight, each one putting a whiskey on the piano for the hostess. They would tell Mum what song and she would say, "just start and I will follow you."
If the singer was good, she would simply put in some fantastic chords and let him have his head, but others needed to be supported.
(Come to think of it, as the night wore on, more and more of them needed some sort of support!)
I grew up thinking that everyone's mother could do this piano business, although I didn't get around to playing myself.
Every New Year there was a splendid dumpling, wow, what a marvellous aroma!
Food was rationed so I don't know how she managed it, again, I thought it was pretty normal.
It was years before I realised what a talented woman she was, and finally realised one day when she was about 80 years old, that she was quite unique.