Old traditions now
become new.
I will never get tired of building
this beautiful life
with you,
my Lucy Blue.
New Old Traditions (A Poem)
the holidays
Happy Thanksgiving!
…to everyone celebrating today! Lucy, for one, is very excited to help.
I’ll be back in December with some fun posts, but for now, we’re spending time with family and trying to get ready for Christmas. (Will we decorate this year? In our new house? Where we are still not totally unpacked? We shall see…) This is going to be a busy holiday season, I can already tell, and while I’m a bit intimidated, I am also so excited to start new traditions in our new home with our beautiful baby girl – who is now officially a toddler, which is amazing all on its own.
So, happy eating and many thanks for all the good things, y’all. See you next week!
Thankful (A Poem)
I breathe it in,
this feeling –
light as air and
heavy as hope –
and exhale.
I wish I could share it,
box it up
and tie it with a bow,
so you could know, too.
Or maybe you do,
down in your soul,
deep in the roots
of what makes you, you –
what makes us human –
the tug and pull
and steady, sturdy seed
that keeps us whole.
I’m thankful.
Thankful.
Thankful.
*A quick note! Graham has Friday off, so I’ll be taking a break, as well. I’ll be back on Monday, unless Baby Girl decides to make an early appearance. In the meantime, for all who celebrate, I wish you a wonderful, warm Thanksgiving! I hope it’s full of love and tasty food, and that you come away with a smile and a full belly.*
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Post-Christmas Edition
Annie is tired.
We’re tired, too. But happy. Happy-tired. I hope you are, as well. Back on Friday with a short story!
Merry Happy Everything!
I’ll be taking a break until Wednesday, December 28th so that I can spend time with family and eat lots of food and make good memories. So, in the meantime, whatever you may be celebrating this season, I hope it is joyous and full of love! I’ll see you next week with one more post for the year, and with December’s short story. 😊
A Christmas Wish (A Poem)
‘Tis the season
for light and dreams,
and holly
and jolly days,
parades and parties and presents,
and also
busy-ness.
So busy,
in fact,
that it’s hard to enjoy
the holly
and jolly
and cheer.
But we’re here!
One more year,
one more tree,
and so many reasons
to be merry.
We’re here,
and we’re happy,
and yes,
‘tis the season.
But man,
I’d love a nap.
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Post-Holiday Edition
This photo is from a couple of years ago…
…but Annie hasn’t changed one bit. She still finds all this holiday business exhausting. Naps abound around here lately, for all of us.
Meanwhile, in my waking time, I’m working on December’s short story. It’ll be up on Friday!
Sunday Supper #4: Counting down to Christmas!
*A quick announcement before I share some Sunday thoughts: I’ll be taking next week off as a sort of holiday break. But I’ll be back on Monday, December 27th! Expect some post-Christmas musings and the last short story of 2021.*
Oh, man. Less than a week until Christmas. How did that happen? The month’s gone by so quickly, but I’m feeling pretty prepared and excited.
I’ve bought presents for everyone on my list, but I’ve not gotten around to wrapping them yet. The good news? I actually remembered to buy wrapping paper and gift tags this year! (Seriously, I’ve forgotten in the past. I’m not proud.)
The bad news? I forgot…basically everything else. Tape, ribbons, bows… Oops. So, we’ll do what we can this evening and finish up later in the week.
And I’ve got a Christmas feast all planned! Not that I’ve actually made a grocery list or done any grocery shopping yet. But that can happen later in the week, too. I’m sure the store won’t be crowded. I’m sure everyone else is more prepared than me. Right? RIGHT?! (I’m not fooling myself, you guys. It’s going to be crazy busy. But it’ll be fine.)
So, it’s actually just general chaos here as we get ready for the holiday, but it’s good chaos. I’m excited to give some fun gifts to the people I love. I’m excited to see my family and a few good friends (all vaccinated) for a lovely Christmas Day dinner. And I’m excited to see what the new year will bring. But, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. For now, presents, groceries, laundry, and some last-minute cleaning. A busy evening ahead, I think.
What’s for supper, in the midst of the madness? Well, with everything else going on, I don’t really feel like cooking, so leftovers it is! Good thing we planned ahead and ordered a really big lunch.
And before I go and get started on…everything, I wish you all a very happy Christmas, or whatever you may be celebrating this month. May it be joyful, peaceful, and restful, and most of all, may it be filled with love. Happy holidays from Virginia, y’all!
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Santa Edition
I can’t remember the last time I had my picture taken with Santa. Well, the last time before this past Friday, anyway.
I’m so glad someone thought to capture this moment! We had a lovely evening at one of our favorite local spots singing Christmas carols and spending time with friends, and as it turned out, with Santa, too. Hopefully this becomes an annual thing, because it was so much fun. But if not, at least I’ve got the picture. And of course, the happy memory, too. 😊
Found Friday #15: The Perfect Present
It seems like every Christmas, my husband and I end up stressing about presents.
To be fair, the two of us approach the act of gift-giving in fundamentally different ways. Though we both love giving presents, I tend to be more impulsive. I’ll see something I think someone would like, and buy it, and then find a few other items that just seem to fit with it, and consider my job done. My husband is thoughtful and cautious, and can spend hours looking around for THE perfect present. And whatever he gets, he often feels it isn’t enough.
And don’t even get me started on wrapping gifts. I’m really, really bad at it. I suspect it’s genetic.
(Okay, that was a joke. Sort of. I am terrible at wrapping gifts, but the beautiful, handmade blanket wrapped up in that picture was absolutely too large and unwieldy for any kind of real wrapping paper, so my parents improvised. Necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention.)
Here’s the truth: presents are my least favorite part of Christmas.
There, I said it.
I love making people happy – love, love, love the way a friend’s face lights up when I’ve given them something they truly need or want – but I think at Christmas, the best way to be happy is just to be in the moment. The holiday season gives us all a chance to slow down and enjoy decorations, music (my actual favorite part of Christmas), good food, and time with the people we care about (my other actual favorite part of Christmas). I hate getting lost in the anxiety of buying stuff.
So, I suppose this post is more about something I haven’t found than something I have, but I’m genuinely curious: What’s your favorite part of the holiday season? And if it’s gift-giving, please tell me your secret! How do you do it? I have to know!
A Virginia Writer's Diary 