Sunday, December 12, 2010

Simple Christmas Delights

Teach us to delight in simple things.
- Rudyard Kipling



Today is such a day for simple things. Snow has been falling slowly and gently all day. Blessed I am among women that I was able to stay home for most of the day, out just long enough to appreciate being in.

Derrick had two of his friends over for much of the afternoon. Love the laughter and energy teenage boys bring into the home. While they play video games I make pizza for them. They totally wipe out the gingersnaps I made yesterday afternoon, so I make a batch of cherry oatmeal cookies to take their place. Christmas music weaves in and out of the sound of the boys talking and laughing, along with their games. My time is spent between the kitchen and dining room where I have Christmas projects spread out over the table. It's a mess, but the kind of mess that brings me happiness. A productive mess.



How amazing it is to think of this as Derrick's possible last year spent with me during the Advent season. I don't want to think of everything "as the last time," but it is difficult not to. I don't know where he'll end up this time next year so knowing that makes this Christmas season seem all the more special. I remember the first Christmas he was here. Living in temporary housing while our new home was being built, all the Christmas ornaments packed away in storage. It was impossible to think of not having a tree for his first Christmas. As if he would even know! I don't even have pictures of it anymore. But that Christmas is engrained in my memory so clearly. We got a tree with long needles, a full, round tree. I bought an abundance of candy canes and red velvet bows to hang on the tree, along with white lights. Simply delightful. Derrick would lay on his floor quilt in front of the tree and wave his hands and legs as if hoping to take off in flight to the top of the tree. Next year he really will take off in flight, onto the next phase of his life.

Today's events will join other memories without photos (camera left in the desk drawer at school) for me. How is it that some of those memories are more visual than those with the actual pictures?

Derrick's happy because his school has already posted a two hour delay for morning. Another simple happiness.

Winter Birch

Winter Birch

Books Recently Read

  • Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
  • Think Like a Freak by Steven Levitt
  • Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  • The Red Tent by Anita Diamond
  • The Dinner by Herman Koch
  • The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • The Lake House by Karen Morton
  • Memories of Heaven by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • The Whip by Karen Kondazian
  • Purity by Jonathan Franzen
  • The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
  • The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain
  • The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
  • The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
  • The Rosie Effect by Graeme Samson
  • The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
  • My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
  • Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
  • Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
  • I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • The Best Part of the Day by Sara Ban Breathnach
  • Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
  • The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
  • Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless
  • The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
  • Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris
  • Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris
  • Five Quarters of the the Orange by Joanne Harris
  • Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris
  • The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris
  • Chocolat by Joanne Harris
  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - A Novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
  • There Are No Accidents by Robert Hopcke
  • You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay
  • We Thought You Would Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro
  • The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron
  • Room by Emma Donoghue
  • House at Riverton by Kate Morton
  • Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
  • The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
  • Peace and Plenty by Sarah Ban Breathnach
  • The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
  • On a Day Like This by Peter Stamm
  • Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay
  • Brida by Paulo Coelho
  • A Stopover in Venice by Kathryn Walker
  • Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho

Cats don't belong to people. They belong to places. - Wright Morris
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