All Through the House...

Here it is, the night after Christmas, and all through the house
not a creature is stirring...except me, sitting here in front of the
fireplace, enjoying the lighted Christmas tree and the flickering
gas flames, and relishing the silence. All of the shopping for
food is completed...the house is clean from attic to basement...
everything in readiness for the influx of family which will begin
early Saturday afternoon and continue through the weekend.

I am looking forward to the hubbub which will surely ensue...
the cacophony which is sure to result from the mix of eight
children of varied ages, four young people, and eight grown-
ups (more or less, grown up, I mean). Our family- at least
portions of it- love playing games like Outburst and Attack Uno
when we get together, so Saturday evening is sure to be alive
with the shouts, the "ohs" and "ahs" and "oh, noes" which
invariably accompany this enjoyable annual activity. And with
the arrival of the Charlotte contingent on Sunday, the house will
resonate with the voices of the 8 young ones, ranging in age
from 5 to 17, along with my son and daughter-in-law. Gifts and
dinner...coffee and cookies...and, of course, the raiding of the
candy jar, filled always with Hershey's kisses which the grands
like to think they are sneaking (but which are always amply
provided by the grandmother of the house). It will be, I'm sure,
a wonderful family holiday celebration, alive with voices and
noise and lots of laughter.

But for right now, for this very minute, I am relishing the
peace and quiet...the "not a creature is stirring" silence of
my comfortable house. I'm considering making some hot
chocolate, though perhaps I will just head on up to bed, read
a bit, and then go to sleep early. And as I lay me down to
sleep, I'll be offering a prayer of thanksgiving for this family
of mine who are the center of my life...who bring so much love
and joy and meaning to my existence...and whom I cherish
beyond measure. My prayer is that you may also have someone/s
in your life who bring that kind of joy...the very best Christmas
gift of all.
Sister Kathy, brother-in-law Larry

Nephew Wren & girlfriend, Carolyn

Youngest son, Paul

The Charlotte grands

Son, Mark & daughter-in-law, Meredith

Eldest granddaughter, Lindsay

Daughter, Hope

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Kenya...

Yes, we're here, after 24 hours of travel time and nearly 40 hours without real sleep. Last night the bed at the Wildebeest was so welcoming and I slept until 9a.m. for the first time in years. No apparent jet lag...and a slow,pleasant day today, doing a few errands, catching up on email, reading, and talking with people here. For those of you in Carolina who continually complain about our roads being under continual construction (and I am one of you), after riding down a main road near here and watching our driver doing potholes and serving into the non-existent shoulder the road countless times, I pledged never to complain about our roads again. The people here would think they were in heaven driving I-85...while we Carolinians mutter under our breaths and curse the NCDOT. All a matter of perspective, I guess, but we Americans have so much for which to be thankful- and too often aren't!  Tomorrow we head to Rwanda to visit with friends and meet our newest grandmothers the...
Read more

Adventures in Health and Well-Being, Linda-Style...

I am not good at being sick…or perhaps I should more accurately say, at admitting weakness in my body. There has always been a kind of shame (as bizarre as that sounds) connected with lack of wellness for me, a sense that I am not living up to what is expected of me. Perhaps it comes from my German background and upbringing, this inability, unwillingness to acknowledge frailty of any kind, but I am gradually, ever-so-gradually coming to acknowledge that this is a very dangerous and self-defeating kind of hubris. Gritting one’s teeth and soldiering on through whatever it is may be fine on a battlefield (though even there it has its limitations, I’m sure), but in everyday life, this philosophy can be not only a failure to acknowledge one’s own limitations but may also be detrimental to one’s health and well-being. All of this being a lengthy preamble to what has been going on with me lately. For the past couple of weeks, I have been noticing that I tire much more ea...
Read more

At Random...

Image
I l ove learning something new every day...today's surprise came during my "quiet time", bringing a gasp of wonder. Perhaps it will surprise you, too. The word RANDOM originally referred to that moment when a horse at full speed has all four hooves off the ground...a moment of total freedom and unbridled energy, for when a horse has all four feet off the ground it is flying...holding nothing back. Perhaps it needs to be that for us, too...being at random...that moment of going with whatever is happening, whatever the situation, trusting in the goodness and friendliness of the Universe, allowing whatever touches us to change our direction...LETTING GO.      R isking everything    A llowing whatever happens, to BE    N ot holding back or closing off    D aring to go with the flow    O pening heart and mind and life    M aking the leap and flying!  
Read more