Happy New Year!

We rang in New Year's day with a proper plunge at the Nordland Store's annual Polar Bear Dip into Mystery Bay on Marrowstone Island where hundreds of people stripped down (some a lot more than others) and flung themselves mercilessly into the icy water. Jason and I partook in this event six years ago but we look so much better in that photo that I'm reluctant to show it here. We started off the day with a beach walk on Indian Island, as I am determined to make good on my New Year's Resolution to give Fela more exercise.

We then began internal polar preparations by enjoying locally made ice cream. The crowd began to swell. A tuba player appeared. Some people wore costumes, some people did not, and some people wore nothing at all. No matter as we were on Marrowstone Island, "an island nation slightly off the coast of the USA".

Since Jonah wasn't plunging, we jumped in shifts. Me first. Somehow, some random person managed to catch a photo of me half a millisecond before I hit the water. The rush was palpable. Literally. Tripping over my goosebumps, I managed to clamber out of the water and back onto the dock. Jason went next and swam all the way to shore, instead of taking the shortcut dock scramble. What a guy! It was then, as we shivered our way back into clothes and shoes, that Jonah realized he wasn't jumping in the water - that he (gulp) wasn't big enough. The tears rolled all the way home. I promised him that next year, he too, could plunge into the 48 degree water and start the new year off right.