All I Want for Christmas (is World Peace) - (Timbuk3)

Fact:  The last time I posted here was August 22, 2022.  

Thought:  I will stop apologizing... to myself, as well as to whomever might be reading this blog.  

Intention:  I have vowed to post more often, starting today, with no obligatory schedule, because I love to write and I miss it when I don't.  So mote it be... 💖

Interesting in that, when I began this blog draft earlier in the week, I had written:  "My life is pretty d*mn amazing right now".  Whew, what a difference three days makes, right?  Yet I am improving my ability to channel my inner Kahlil Gibran, reminding myself that without sorrow we wouldn't know joy.  Family Drama:  normal.  Overwhelmedness (especially at this time of year):  typical.  Disrupted Sleep Patterns:  horrible during the pandemic, evened out, back to sporadic 3 a.m. two-hour bouts of reading until I get tired enough to try again.

However, I appear to uncharacteristically have my sh*t together this Christmas... and it's still 11 days away!  The house is decorated; I actually put out my Santa collection this year (which I hadn't for a few), and am so much enjoying the vibe as well as the stories behind each one.  Season's Greetings cards will go in the mail early next week.  (Most of the) Presents are wrapped.  My Spotify holiday playlist is in process of being created; then I will share.  This all feels too good to be true. Who am I and what have I done with Susan?!?  Will publish this post and read for a few hours until my modus operandi of panic and frenzy creeps back in (ha ha ha ha ha!)... 💞

In the meantime, some specific moments of loveliness (as well as hilarity):

~ We were invited to join Sarah and Colin, along with J (her boyfriend) and his four kids plus his sister and her daughter, as well as both sets of G families at the Oasis Church for their annual holiday lights extravaganza, complete with train ride... fake snow (Colin:  "it's just bubbles, Lala!)... old-school Frosty the Snowman movie projected on the building wall... popcorn/S'Mores/hot chocolate... and Christmas trivia.  Okay, so temps are still in the 70s-80s here; it's the Spirit that counts, right?... and our Caravan of Chaos had plenty of that... 🎄

~ A few nights later we went to Sarah's to assist in decorating her tree; more stories with each ornament:  the glitter-card-lace Taco Bell ashtray (Sarah's Girl Scout Troop creation, when they still allowed smoking in restaurants!)... Dad's Favorite Child (bought at Cracker Barrel decades ago on a trip to Atlanta for Christmas; yes, each of our three received one, and Rob's is black, to differentiate his from Eric's!)... a glass heart with Colin's handprint, which Sarah helped him make during the pandemic/Christmas 2020!.  The final touch was tinsel (which my mom loved and I always hated, because it made such a mess), and we had fun showing Colin how to gently separate two or three strands and place them at the end of a branch (my mom's modus operandi).  And, when we sat down to admire our handiwork, Sarah played two special songs on her phone:  My Way (my mom's all-time favorite), and Silent Night (my husband's dad's favorite carol).  Bliss!

~ My niece's partner is a kindergarten teacher, and she asked on Facebook for donations of books to her 20 students; pick a number and she would assign us a child, and we could choose from a pre-determined Wish List.  I offered up 8, I got Emmett ("a boy's boy", she said); her offerings were sweet abd thoughtful but, reading her description of his personality made me want to introduce him to the story of my favorite pacifist bull (noted below), so I asked L, if she deemed it appropriate, to please add it to her list.  Hard to believe it was published in 1936, 86 years ago!  Still so relevant and, because it's such a classic, I sent the hardcover edition... ☮

~ Hilarious meme:

Speaking of, I haven't yet had my annual viewing of the latter yet (the Joni CD was better than that d*mn garish necklace anyway... right, Emma?); also, did you know about The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later (a Diane Sawyer Special) on Hulu?  I highly recommend!

NR (Now Reading):  Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver; set in Appalachia, it's a modern re-telling of David Copperfield and, although only a third of the way through, I'm captivated!

SONG:  All I Want for Christmas (is World Peace) - (Timbuk3)

BOOK:  The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (illustrated by Robert Lawson)

POEM:  Nest by Jeffrey Harrison

It wasn’t until we got the Christmas tree

into the house and up on the stand

that our daughter discovered a small bird’s nest

tucked among its needled branches.

Amazing, that the nest had made it

all the way from Nova Scotia on a truck

mashed together with hundreds of other trees

without being dislodged or crushed.

 

And now it made the tree feel wilder,

a balsam fir growing in our living room,

as though at any moment a bird might flutter

through the house and return to the nest.

And yet, because we’d brought the tree indoors,

we’d turned the nest into the first ornament.

So we wound the tree with strings of lights,

draped it with strands of red beads,

and added the other ornaments, then dropped

two small brass bells into the nest, like eggs

containing music, and hung a painted goldfinch

from the branch above, as if to keep them warm.

QUOTE:  "Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a songbird will come." ~ Chinese proverb

I Would Do Anything for You (Foster The People)

For months, I have been calling Colin my Snuggle Bunny because, when we are together, he is the best cuddler, burrowing himself into my chest, neck, the crook of my arm.  For Easter, I bought him the above shirt, and gave it to him today, explaining that it was Colin and Lala... 💖

We went over to Sarah's this morning; she had already done an egg hunt with him in the apartment.  I cooked and brought vegan sausage patties, mini-JustEgg quiches, and crescent rolls; she made roast potatoes and provided mimosas.  The boys are working and therefore were unable to join us (sad face).  I wore my bunny slippers and bunny ears, we decorated bunny cookies, and Sarah had a playlist in the background which included Van Morrison, Tori Amos, Tom Petty, Ani DiFranco, and others (we raised her right... 😍 )

Home now, and ready for a nap (too much champagne and sugar!).  Lifting a glass to gratitude, rebirth, and renewal... 🍸

SONG:  I Would Do Anything for You by Foster The People

BOOK:  Snuggle Bunnies by L. C. Falken, Lisa McCue (Illustrator)

POEM:  Love Song by Rainer Maria Rilke

When my soul touches yours a great chord sings!

How shall I tune it then to other things?

O! That some spot in darkness could be found

That does not vibrate when’er your depth sound.

But everything that touches you and me

Welds us as played strings sound one melody.

Where is the instrument whence the sounds flow?

And whose the master-hand that holds the bow?

O! Sweet song—

QUOTE:  "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.  The second best time is now." ~ Chinese proverb

Button Up Your Overcoat (DeSylva, Brown, Henderson)

Last night my husband and I did indeed go out to dinner (Kamado's, a local Chinese/Japanese restaurant... delicious) and a movie (Seven Pounds... thought-provoking) and were home by 11:45 p.m., whereupon we opened a bottle of ruby spumante and had time enough for a toast, a few sips and multiple kisses before midnight struck - we then went out on the patio (with re-filled glasses and the bottle) and proceeded to stretch out on lounge chairs and watch/listen to the (next door and across-the-street) neighborhood display of fireworks... some of them dinky (roman candles and sparklers) and some quite impressive (think Apocalypse Now!).

We had called my mom and R's stepmom earlier in the evening... and then phoned all three of our children a bit after the ball dropped - one answered and wished us a Happy New Year in return... and for the other two we left voicemails. We then retired for the evening, taking advantage of the fact everyone else was out of the house - sweeeet... :-)

We'll get the family together over here about 5 this afternoon for drinks (I have another bottle of champagne in the fridge) and appetizers (as yet to be determined) - ringing in the New Year doesn't have to take place at the stroke of midnight to be meaningful...

So... after much pondering and soul-searching and contemplation (oh my!), I've determined that my Word of the Year for 2009 is... drumroll, please... Health, in all its many definitions: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual - in this whirlwind of a life I have (which remains lovely and satisfying, despite the madness and sorrow), I've not been doing such a good job of taking care of myself (major understatement)...

In 2009, I vow to do the following to restore and maintain my Health:

Physical: take my multi-vitamins every d*mn day; walk/exercise 5 days a week (including as-soon-as-I-get-out-of-bed morning stretches); plan and stick to a sensible eating program (a Life Style Change... not a Diet!); be in the bed as close to midnight as I can possibly manage; make and follow through with all the medical (doctor and dentist) appointments I've managed to back-burner for the last mumblemumble years...

Emotional: nurture important relationships, let non-functioning ones go; say what I mean, mean what I say, and do what I say I'm going to do; trust my intuition; choose joy...

Mental: more reading for pleasure, less computer time; remember the value of setting boundaries ("just say no"); honor the value of deadlines (my own and anyone else who is depending on me); seek out and embrace challenges...

Spiritual: I actually feel pretty on-track here, fulfilled with services/community at my local UU church (where I'm the Sunday Services Committee chair, as well as the promoter/producer of our monthly folk/acoustic concert series) - however, I would also like to make space each day for meditating/quiet time (something I always mean to do, but never seem to make happen); my new mantra (gleaned from a 2009 Live with Intention calendar I bought for myself a few months ago)... "Expect this to be a day of healing, awareness, harmony and gentle order." ~ Naomi C. Rose...

I am only 54 and should have a few more decades ahead of me (barring unforeseen circumstances), if I can be pro-active about my health, rather than allowing it to come last in every list of priorities I've ever made - this will take faith and desire... but it will also require discipline and focus...

I'm a Leo, for god's sake - Just Do It, Susan!

SONG: Button Up Your Overcoat by DeSylva, Brown, Henderson

BOOK: This is YOUR New Year's Resolution!: A 12 Month Health Mastery Program by D Tim Labelle

POEM: New Year's Morning by Helen Hunt Jackson

Only a night from old to new!
Only a night, and so much wrought!
The Old Year's heart all weary grew,
But said: The New Year rest has brought."
The Old Year's hopes its heart laid down,
As in a grave; but trusting, said:
"The blossoms of the New Year's crown
Bloom from the ashes of the dead."

The Old Year's heart was full of greed;
With selfishness it longed and ached,
And cried: "I have not half I need.
My thirst is bitter and unslaked.
But to the New Year's generous hand
All gifts in plenty shall return;
True love it shall understand;
By all my failures it shall learn.
I have been reckless; it shall be
Quiet and calm and pure of life.
I was a slave; it shall go free,
And find sweet pace where I leave strife."

Only a night from old to new!
Never a night such changes brought.
The Old Year had its work to do;
No New Year miracles are wrought.

Always a night from old to new!
Night and the healing balm of sleep!
Each morn is New Year's morn come true,
Morn of a festival to keep.
All nights are sacred nights to make
Confession and resolve and prayer;
All days are sacred days to wake
New gladness in the sunny air.
Only a night from old to new;
Only a sleep from night to morn.
The new is but the old come true;
Each sunrise sees a new year born.

QUOTE: "Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

"When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy." ~ Chinese Proverb