Three nights in a row I’ve slept in the travel trailer! If you aren’t a camper or an adventurer or an outdoor enthusiast, you may not understand what that means. But, if you are, you know camping three nights in a row in January is sheer bliss. It’s not something you get to do very often and if the opportunity presents itself, I’m there! Thank goodness I have a very understanding and supportive husband. He gets me…and he encourages me to be my best self. Which means, I need a certain level of independence and freedom. The door swings both ways. He knows that I am his biggest cheerleader and I encourage him to pursue his interests, as well.
I mentioned a while back that I wanted to take up painting again. Mr. FixIt read that…either on my FB page or on my blog. And then, Santa brought me a set of paints and some canvases! I love that he listened and remembered and helped me make a step closer to doing something that brings me joy.
Several years ago, Daughter #2 went to visit her dad. He and his wife had made the life changing decision to sell the house he and I bought together when our daughter was an infant. This is a good thing. It was time to move on…personally, professionally. They needed a fresh start…I get that. I had long since let go of the house we shared. It represented a life I no longer lived and I had no emotional attachment to it.
Taking three days off for the end of the year was a delightful gift…to myself and to our family. We had the FixIt Family Holiday Extravaganza on Friday and it was such a delight. As is our tradition, the big blowout dinner of the year is Thanksgiving. Christmas is much lower key in order to allow all of us to sit down and enjoy the day and no one ends up doing an extraordinary amount of work.
There was a time when I looked forward to the New Year with great anticipation. I dared it to be the biggest, best, most bad@$$ year in the books. “Bring it on!” I’d shout in my end-of-the-year, Christmas-cookie-and-eggnog-induced stupor. Looking back…I don’t know what on EARTH I thought I was doing talking to a new year like that.
The other night…I had a dream. I don’t dream all that often. Perhaps more precisely…I don’t remember my dreams. This one was really vivid and clear. I was attending an event honoring Queen Elizabeth. It was jam packed with people…dressed to the nines. All pomp and circumstance, as an event honoring Royalty would be.
After not feeling well on Christmas Day, I decided to just lay low and eat light yesterday. Toast and tea for breakfast, some more on the computer, and some knitting while Mr. FixIt watched his shows left me feeling refreshed and rested. We had a lovely video chat with my in-loves in Colorado. My son-in-law’s parents are the salt of the earth and we had a grand time visiting with them over tea. In the late afternoon, Mr. FixIt headed to town for a minute. By that time it had started snowing.
I didn’t sleep well Christmas Eve. I was too hot, even after I moved to the guest room which is downright chilly. I tossed and turned and finally got up around 9:00. I made breakfast…warmed up a biscuit, fried up some of that ham we got on special at Aldi’s, and some scrambled eggs. That ham was the saltiest I’ve ever tasted. I checked the wrapper to see if it was a cured ham that needed soaked and it was not. But I knew as soon as I ate it, I would regret it.
As I fumbled around, trying to find just the right story to bring you today, I kept circling back to the word innocence. With the birth of Christ came the purity of God in the form of man. Jesus was without guile. He came into this world, laid in a lowly manger, and grew to teach us every thing we ever need to know to be a good human. He came to teach us to love. To love as we wish to be loved.
Let’s face it…we don’t live in a Hallmark movie. Relationships are complicated and oftentimes messy. We can turn to any given channel on the TV at this time of year and see beautiful depictions of perfectly decorated houses with perfectly obedient children eagerly awaiting the appearance of the jolly old elf himself.
Most of my demographic have grandchildren and great grandchildren, so we are a little past the frenetic activity leading up to Christmas. But as the day approaches, we push to create the most perfect holiday so our loved ones have wonderful memories long after we’re gone. The cookies are baked. The house is decorated to the nines. The pantry is full of all manner of delicacies. So…why do we feel so let down when it’s all over?
