~ Penned December 21st

I told the husband that I hadn’t spent enough time with the tree this year. It’s a grand fir with a drastically crooked trunk that makes me question if it is truly standing straight. I tend to look at the posture of the angel to ease my mind. I got up early this morning to sit by it. 

It’s four days before Christmas and the to-do list is still lengthy. A friend emailed mentioning Tasha Tudor Christmas touches, and I smiled grateful for a friend who would tap out such a reference in her words to me. I may head to the backyard today to cut fresh evergreen sprigs to appease us both. 

There’s this smaller tree that we’ve been adding cinnamon decorations to. The girls painted and wrote gifts that can’t be bought.  When we gather in the evenings, one girl picks a gift and hangs it on the tree. We talk about what that gift means and how it’s found in our lives, and somehow through the stumbling of ideas, and the sometimes new revelations, these cookie cutter gifts seem like the most important treasures this year. 

The first born is leaving before the New Year, south toward the equator. She’s checking her list and figuring out how to pack a month into a backpack. She received a journal gift from a travel mate, and put it into her to-go pile to record her thankfulness throughout her days. Somewhere along the way in her sixteen years, she knows that taking notice of the gifts surrounding her, helps to grow a contented heart. 

~ Christmas Thoughts 2019