“Mom, how do you always know what the theme of the year is?”
Such an innocent question from my son, who wondered how I knew it was the year of the camel last year, mermaid the year before that, and pineapple the year prior to that. I felt like I was divulging the Santa mystery when I told him that his aunt and I just made up the themes. There was no magic to it. Pineapples came from a dish towel given to me by a friend, mermaids from a friend coming out of sedation after surgery, and camels from a snarky comment by another friend. I guess be careful what you say or give me!
This year’s theme was randomly chosen when my sister and I were shopping at the beginning of last year, and came across an idea totally opposite from the dryness evoked by the image of a camel. Thus, 2021 is the year of the penguin!
Penguins are rather amazing birds, having evolved to “fly” underwater. A group of them is called a waddle when on land, and a raft at sea. They symbolize dreams, adaptability, family, and spirituality. While they were really chosen as the theme because we found penguin cocktail napkins on sale at the now defunct Pier One store, they can work for us as an inspiration this year. (I shall be striving to reduce my waddling as I renew my healthy eating habits. See…inspiration already!)
Enjoy this new year. Dream, be adaptable, cherish family, and embrace your spirituality. Also, be grateful we didn’t choose the mud skipper as our mascot for the year, as exciting and interesting as they can be.
