The truth from my bathroom scale tonight.

Nine pounds.

Sigh.

Yes, nine pounds is better than ten pounds, or Oh. My. God twenty pounds.

Where did those heavy-bottomed nine pounds come from? I’ll tell you.

They started on Thanksgiving, when I made many, many delicious things with real butter and real cream, because foods taste so much better that way. From Thanksgiving until now there has been a cinnamon cake. A cranberry-pecan tart. There have been cookies. Peppermint bark and Lindt truffles and candied fruit slices. Crackers and chips. Sliced salami and cheeses of various savory colors and textures. Chocolate mousse with whipped cream. Hazelnut cocoa, steaming in the mug. Oh, and breads. Rich, soft breads, toasted with jam, or buttered and mopping up gravy.

And all this plenty because the end of the year was upon us. Solstice. Dark days. Darker, longer nights. The promise of ice and cold to come.

But now, the year has turned. We have a fresh page! The days are getting longer. Just by a minute or two each day, but that’s enough. Longer days, shorter nights. Before we know it, it will be spring. Then summer.

For now, though, it’s still cold. Snow is waiting in the wings, preparing a surprise.

I’m celebrating this new year with mindfulness. Mindfulness is my watchword for The Year 2010.  I now put aside the childish, joyous gluttony of the past month or so and embrace the real joy of being healthy and strong, full of energy and light. I know how to do this, how to eat well so I can be well. It’s time to renew that pleasant effort.

I am nine pounds backwards today. But it’s all right. They’ll be gone before long and I’ll be back at my old end, with momentum built up for a new beginning. Slowly, gently, there will be less of me. And less. And I will be lighter. It will be hard to stay on the ground. I might float away …