What's Really Important

I never quite made it totally to Christmas this year.  I loved Advent, that time of waiting, of reflection,  of trying to not get caught up in the commercialism of Christmas.  I "did" Advent so well that I didn't even get the Christmas tree put up until December 20th.  And by that time, other than some outdoor lights on the front porch, I wasn't inspired to do any other decorating.  Usually I seriously decorate the mantel and hearth, as well as both the dining room and library.  None of that happened this year.  It was kind of strange; I had no unhappy or negative feelings surrounding the holidays, I just didn't have the inclination to put all of the decorations up and then take them all down and pack them away.  So, I didn't decorate.  

This time last week I started feeling a little guilty about my lack of environmental holiday cheer, but thankfully, that quickly subsided.  Christmas has now come and, for all practical purposes, gone.  I know, I know...Christmastide lasts until Epiphany on January 6th, but let's face it,  once we all go back to work and school next week, or this week for some, Christmas is over.  Since I now have some down time, I have had the opportunity to reflect on what was going on for me this holiday season.

I usually do our holiday decorating the weekend before my final exams; that was the weekend of December 9-11.  This year, Weber and I travelled to Colonial Williamsburg that weekend for a photowalk with some fabulous Capture Your 365 photography friends.  The weekend was filled with lots of fun, laughter, photos, and Williamsburg was filled with much holiday cheer. 

During the weekend,  I also reconnected, after thirty-five years, with my college sweetheart.  He read On Blueper B's blog that we were close by and made the hour drive to come see me.  We shared, over a few beers, the Reader's Digest condensed version of our respective lives over the last three decades.  

 

 I don't regret for one second having taken this quick weekend excursion instead of decorating.

By the time my semester was over the following weekend, I still had a few gifts to buy and everything needed to be wrapped.  Once the tree was up, I got right on the wrapping.  Unlike in years past, I had all but two or three things wrapped and under the tree by the 22nd.  That's a good thing because on the 22nd and the 23rd Christmas was again put on hold so that we could celebrate the girls' birthdays.  Ethiopian food and the musical The Book of Mormon on Brooke's birthday and an Escape Room and upscale southern cuisine for Erin's.  We had two wonderful days of our entire family being together having fun and literally celebrating life.  If you have never done an Escape Room, I recommend it!  Lots of fun and a great family bonding experience, even though we were crushed to death because we were trapped in a cabin whose roof could not support the weight of the snow during a blizzard.

And then it was Christmas Eve.

Because my entire family (kids, ex, significant others) gathers at our house to celebrate Christmas, I spent most of the 24th grocery shopping and making sure that we had everything that we needed for Christmas Day.  Brunch is our "big" family meal.  Well really, Brooke's homemade Christmas cinnamon rolls are our big family meal, but we did have a spinach and potato slab pie just to give the illusion of being slightly more healthy.  Food beyond the breakfast feast is grazing, as we call it.  Brooke did most of the brunch food preparation and while I was singing two Christmas Eve Masses, Weber made a brisket and barbecue sauce for later in the day.  The others brought simple sides to go with the brisket.

Christmas morning came.  We opened our stockings, ate, drank coffee, exchanged gifts, drank more coffee, ate some more, sat outside in the 70 degree weather, ate some more, played Cards Against Humanity (I know. A bit irreverent for Christmas, but we sure had fun!), ate a little more, packed up leftovers (Yes, there were some!), packed up gifts.  Everyone headed to their respective homes.  I fell asleep.

We had a wonderful, happy, beautiful day.  And you know what?  No one cared that the hearth and mantel weren't decorated or that the dining room wasn't decorated, or that the library was void of any hint of Christmas.  You know why?  Because it is not those things that make Christmas.  Christmas is love.  Christmas is joy.  Christmas is peace.  Those things may be found in beautiful decorations, but at our house they were most certainly found in homemade cinnamon rolls, coffee (The Bailey's may up the coffee's joy factor slightly), laughter (even if it did come from playing a raunchy game), and just being with people that make you happy.

Looking back, I now realize that my Decemeber was all about being with people who make me happy - my photography friends that I was blessed to spend a day with in Williamsburg, my college sweetheart, my girls, my local friends, my ex, my husband, even my students and colleaugues as we all dragged ourselves to the end of the semester finish line.  It was all about people.  

People are what's important.  People will make or break your spirit.  It has taken me a long time, but I now surround myself only with people who make my spirit, not break it.  Those people protect me from others who may want to break me, hurt me, or steal my joy.

Think about the people that surround you.  Do they bring you happiness?  Do you bring them joy?  Do you share peace with one another?  If so, count your blessings.  If not, ask why.  

I am grateful that this year's twinkling Christmas lights came not from strings of lights and glittery baubles, but from the sparkling eyes, smiles, and hearts of all of the beautiful people with whom I shared my December.  Thank you, everyone!

Christmas 2015

Christmas has come and gone.  In Texas, at least for us, it was the calm before the storm.  The Dallas area had devastating tornadoes last night, one of which contained 200 mph winds, that left eleven people dead and massive property damage that has not yet been fully assessed.  Though the tornado sirens sounded for us and we had a plan for taking shelter, we never moved from our positions  in front of the TV where we were watching the storm's movement, to our secure place in the hall.   Many people in DFW were not as fortunate as we were.  This kind of  loss is heartbreaking anytime, but perhaps even more so at this time of year when happiness and joy should prevail.

Christmas Day in Dallas was marked by temperatures in the high 70's.  There was no cozy family gathering around the fire for us.  In fact, we spent almost the entire day outside on the patio.  It was beautiful...and stress free!  We did not have a formal sit-down-at-the-table meal this year.  Brooke made her traditional Christmas morning cinnamon rolls and the coffee was free flowing.  We all grabbed a mug of coffee and paper plate with a cinnamon roll (or two) and made our way outside.  This was followed by self serve line that included an egg casserole and bacon.  We ate what we wanted when we wanted it.  I loved the relaxed, unstructured nature of our day.  Everyone could read their instruction manuals, program their electronics, play their games, and finish their chapters without being interrupted by a formal "dinner bell."

I need to remember this low stress approach to Christmas Day for next year...and pray again for the unseasonably warm temperatures.  Don't get me wrong, I love a white Christmas, but the out of the ordinary weather helped make our out of the ordinary celebration feel right this year.

Once my semester ended on December 17th, I was able to truly relax.  I knew that I was stressed at the end of the semester, but I don't think that I realized just how much.  A huge weight was lifted.  With some truly "free" time I was able to enjoy wrapping gifts, some last minute decorating, a little cooking, and fun with my two and four-legged family members...and our "bestest" friends.

I love this ornament given to us by one of the members of our "tribe."

A few images leading up to Christmas.

Oh, and did I mention between school ending on the 17th and Christmas we also celebrated the birthdays of Offsprings No. 1 and No.2?  Good times!

Offspring No. 1 - age 26

Offspring No. 2 - age 23

After singing the late night Christmas Eve service, we have this crazy tradition of going to Waffle House just down the road from our house.  I'm not sure how or why this tradition got started, but we've done it for at least five years and I look forward to it no matter how tired I may be at 1am on Christmas morning.  It is interesting to people watch at a sit down restaurant that is open in the middle of the night on Christmas.  There are travelers trying to get to family before morning, families for whom this may be their Christmas meal, and people who are a party of one who may be lonely and want to be among others.  In addition to scrambled eggs with cheese and hash browns, part of our Waffle House tradition is to share the love and hospitality of Christmas with our fellow patrons and the staff at our local Waffle House.  This is one of my favorite family traditions.

Christmas morning began with the littlest among us, all decked out in her Christmas PJ's, opening her gifts first.  Piper's four-legged brother and sister followed right along.  They all played while we waited for all of the humans to gather.

I put my camera down during the gift exchange.  You'll just have to believe me when I say that everyone did great both in the giving and receiving!

Here are a few shots of our relaxed Christmas afternoon.

Holiday cheers to each of you from each of us!

THE END!

The Road Toward Christmas

It was Thanksgiving when I last wrote and now we are only seven days away from Christmas.  Over these last three weeks there were days that seemed to go on forever - mainly those where I was so tired that all I could think of was a nap; but for the most part, time has whizzed by.  Until the last week, I wasn't sure that I was going to get my act together for Christmas.  There were moments over these past few weeks where I had to talk sternly to myself, saying that it would all be okay, really!

Throughout the month of December, all of the Capture Your 365 photo prompts focused on holiday preparations.  Until last weekend, I had done none.  Continuing to take a photo a day during this time despite having little holiday cheer at my house kept me from completely panicking over the fact that I was so far behind.

Today, thanks to Amazon.com and my school semester being over, I now think that I will make it.  

Focusing on Advent, the time of waiting, has also helped me to maintain some sanity and a sense of calm throughout the first weeks of December.

I missed photographing the lighting of the third candle last Sunday.

Thanks to the new landscaping that we had done earlier in the fall, our backyard, which was normally nothing but brown at this time of year, is full of color.  The yuletide camellias began budding a few weeks ago and now are full of brightly colored red and yellow flowers.

Piper, the newest addition to our family, is full of love for us and for her big dog brother and sister.  Even the cat has decided that things are going to be OK.  It is hard for me to even imagine that this poor little thing was abused.  

Even amidst the craziness of the season, we have made time each week to spend time with friends. Regular "diner dinners", the wedding of two of our dearest friends, and a few theater productions have been some of the best times this month.

And now, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Piper is not so sure about that Santa Claus fellow.  I think she has been talking to her youngest human sister who, from a young age, has thought Santa Claus creepy.

Though she does like napping under the Christmas tree.

I am thankful to have the next month off with time to spend with family and friends.  I also have lots of things on my 'want to do" rather than" have to do" list and the time now to actually do them.  What a wonderful feeling!!!

22/365-3 Color Blocking

"My New Jacket"

For Christmas I asked for a North Face Denali jacket.  I didn't specify a color, but anyone willing to spend the money to buy me this jacket knows me well enough to know that I would definitely want blue.  In doing his Christmas shopping, Weber discover that North Face has an option where you can design your own jacket - choose the polar fleece color, the nylon, the zippers, the stitching, and they include an embroidered personal tag.  That is what I got for Christmas.  It was really two gifts in one.  Playing with all of the color combinations on the website was a blast.  The hard part was having to make a decision...well, not really.  Blue and orange were the only contenders;  the only hard part was deciding in what combination.  Obviously I settled on one and my jacket came today!  It may not be the most exciting picture of color blocking, but I am pretty excited about the jacket!

Here is the link if anyone is interested.

21/365-2 Play or Meal?

Geodesic Gnome Dome

Food photography is not my forte.  And, I am a firm believer that bad food photography is the worst kind of bad photography.  Every time a prompt surfaces that involves food, I tend to think, think, rethink, and overthink...as was the case today.  To make matters worse, today's prompt implied that the food shot should be a clever...oh great.

I thought about it for awhile.  The picture below is my response.  It is a take on something I think I saw in an online article a year or so ago.  As far as my contribution, it is fairly uninspired, but it fit the bill.

I remembered after I took this that the girls wanted me to photograph the gingerbread house that they built over the weekend.  (We were out of town and our kitchen was overtaken.)  Brooke and Erin have made a tradition of building a gingerbread house together over the Christmas holidays.  However, now that they both have "grown-up" jobs, time did not allow for that during the real holiday season, so it was put off until now.  As I was photographing their gingerbread dome, I thought, "Well duh; this is a much better image of playing with food than was my silly fruit and shredded wheat."  And, it's more meaningful.  I am glad to have documented the yearly house building.

I think Mr. Gingerbread Man is a little concerned about the style, or lack thereof, of his new neighbor.  We'll see what the geodesic gnome dome does to the property values in their neighborhood.

Mr. Gnome is glad to meet his new neighbors.

A Gnome With a View...

I'm glad that my girls keep me entertained...the Legos were more contribution to their project.

359/365-2 The Aftermath

"Nap Time!"

Another Christmas tradition around our house is that after brunch has been eaten and gifts have been opened Harley and Weber climb up in the recliner and have a Christmas nap.  I think there is a similar picture to this one from almost every Christmas day that these two have shared.

This image is not particularly "Christmassy" in and of itself, so here is a second look at the aftermath of our Christmas morning.

We had a wonderful Christmas - lots of food, laughter, and sharing of gifts.  We all got and gave many thoughtful things.  At least this image looks a little more like Christmas.

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!

from our family to yours