Christmas Roundup

 Last night, Ben, Zosia, Lily and I sat down together with a bunch of markers and did a big brainstorm of what our hopes and dreams are for the coming year.  They ranged from "go to the rainforest" (Zosia) to "practice on my cooking" (Lily) to "more messy art projects" (me).  I think a common theme was more travel and time with family and friends.  We did our best to include both big goals and little things that we could actually accomplish on the day to day.  Both Ben and I agreed we need to work on patience, and I think this is going to be a big year of cycling for Ben (woo hoo!).  It was a really wonderful time together, and there was something so special about sharing our hopes and dreams with one another and committing to working on our faults.  Having that sort of accountability is a gift.  And Lily has already been working on her cooking, approaching me as I was throwing dinner together and saying "Can I help with dinner?  It's one of my goals!"  And just like that she went to work chopping vegetables.  This I could get used to!

Our Christmas was really wonderful.  We were surrounded by almost our entire families, and hosted many gatherings, and tried to take a moment or two amid the business of it all to take a deep breath and soak it all in.  There were family traditions that have taken on a life of their own, and the joining of traditions that were once distinct, and even a few new traditions that have started to take form.  And I do believe that we managed to celebrate a Christmas that included gifts but was about so much more than the gifts that we give to one another.  As we sat in church on Christmas morning, I really felt the greatness of Christmas, the miracle of it all, with a deepness I have never quite known.  This is the gift of a full life, that we can learn the same thing over and over again with new layers of meaning applied through all of our experiences.  I am so thankful for God joining the human family.  It is just amazing.

The great hurrah of the holidays ended with a stomach bug that has worked its way through our family, mercifully sparing me alone.  There is something about sickness that forces you to rest.  At home, with nowhere to go and nothing to do.  And rest we have, reading books and slowly washing guest sheets (along with so many loads of pukey laundry, oh my goodness).  We are just about finally well, and all of that celebrating with all of that family, followed by all of that sickness, has given me the gift of a very fresh vantage point on our ordinary day to day life.  I feel an incredible energy and newness as I prepare to enter back into our comforting routines.  We have a few days left with family in town, and I am looking forward to enjoying every bit of it, and feel like I have a wonderful vision of how to live our life with ultimate fullness in the here and now.

Happy New Year everyone!