This is the tenth Christmas since Mr. Virgo died. So much has happened since that first Christmas without him. I’ve sold my house and gotten rid of 95% of my personal belongings. I’ve lived a nomadic lifestyle in my camper. I’ve moved across the country. I settled on the family farm…the home of my heart. I’ve become closer to Jesus. And…I found love again in the form of a kind and gentle man who makes room in his life for me and all my baggage.
Ahhhh, the Winter Solstice has come and gone and so has the longest night of the year! Every day forward…from now to June 21st…every day will bring more light and less darkness. Isn’t that a wonderful thought?
It would be very easy to wish this time of darkness away. To only look forward to brighter, better days. But if we do that, we are cheating ourselves out of an experience. All experiences…good and bad…have a purpose. Good times make us joyful. Bad times make us stronger. And quiet times give us space to meditate. To slow down. To breathe and just…be. ALL times should make us grateful for the experience.
Yesterday was a culinary delight and yet it was simple from start to finish. Every morning, I ask Mr. FixIt what he’d like for breakfast. Yesterday he elected to have French Toast. I make a pretty mean version with heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and my homemade Vanilla Extract. It is light and fluffy and not overly sweet. My vanilla gives it a wonderful depth of flavor. Balance that with sausage patties and sugar free syrup and you have a breakfast as good as any quality restaurant could serve.
I honestly did NOT want to go to town yesterday but I had no choice. I had to go to the bank because I was having an issue with their app and they couldn’t help me over the phone. If it didn’t involve something that needed completed right away, I would have blown it off. But, it was time sensitive so, there ya go…another trip to town.
‘Tis the season of happy holidays. Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years…all times for gathering with the people you love. The sharing of meals, gifts, companionship. It’s all so hectic and frenzied and fun…isn’t it? It is…until it isn’t. I remember when I was a new widow. The fun evenings out with others pretty much ended. Invitations dried up. It was especially hurtful when I was left on the outside looking in.
I woke up before the alarm went off. I’m so glad, because I hate an alarm clock. They always wake me with a jar and it doesn’t set the mood for a fun day. I headed out for town and got to the coffee shop in plenty of time to get the tables ready for our gathering of the ‘71 Coffee Divas.
While I really wanted to just sit in my big red chair and knit all day yesterday…it didn’t happen. Those cookies were not going to deliver themselves, so we grabbed everything we needed and headed for town…again! It turned out to not take nearly as long as we thought it would. Our first stop was the Former Mrs. FixIt’s house where we found out she was going to see the rest of the kids that evening for their annual gingerbread house extravaganza. So instead of driving all over town, we asked if she would take the cookies and give them to the kids for us. I didn’t want them to wait till we get to see them over the holidays because the cookies wouldn’t be in their prime.
Ohhhhhh, the things I still have to do! I took stock today of my holiday preparations as I sat in my big comfy chair. The floor around my feet was littered in every direction with gifts, gift bags, and all manner of flotsam and jetsam that needs to be taken care of. The dishes were piled in the sink. Mr. FixIt was kind enough to whip up some oats for breakfast while I decided what was going to get done first.
I have the best friends. Remember how we were talking the other day about normalizing regifting and repurposing items? I love a thoughtful gift that is shared from the heart. One that was selected with just me in mind. A few months ago, my mermaid friend in Cali sent me a beautiful selection of items she no longer had a home for. She chose exactly what she knew I would love and sent them to me with gobs of love and light. And I received them…with all that love and light intact. It was enough to make my heart explode.
Mr. FixIt and I split the holiday shopping duties. I take care of the girls. He takes care of the boys. Which isn’t really even because there’s a lot more girls than there are boys in our family. I don’t really mind, though. I know how to shop for girls…I’ve done it forever! Mr. FixIt took off for town yesterday morning to do his shopping and left me at home to bake. I needed to add to the cookie trove.
