The Rest of March

I don't know of any other month that can so effortlessly contain all the weather types. Shirt-sleeves to Blizzard, this is March in the Cascade foothills.

Festive Things

One very long, very festive sentence coming your way right here: White Elephant gift exchanges, decorating Gingerbread Houses, dark windows and twinkling lights, bits of holly and evergreen boughs tucked into all the right places, brown paper packages tied up with string, the cutest little Mary in the church's Christmas Pageant, siblings exchanging gifts that they bought with their own money for the first time and deciding to do it on Christmas Eve and bringing giant smiles to each others' faces, candlelight shared with Believers in the Christ Child born to save the Whole World while singing carols that bring tears to my eyes, dearest friends and dearest family, and a carrot shaped like a Manatee: all the most festive merry happy things from this Christmas season.

And to all, a good night.

In Between

I'm certainly not a Grinch when it comes to the Holidays. But I have a confession to make.

My favorite moments during the Christmas season aren't the parties and lights and music.

My heart is the happiest in the moments in between. When frost and woodsmoke are the stars of the show. When December sparkles all by itself, without help from me or General Electric. When there aren't school lessons to complete, so the kids and I can breathe and relax and enjoy quiet moments.

I try my darndest to keep it simple and focus in on what really matters, but it seems that things still get away from me during the holiday season.

But those in-between moments when I can breathe; that is when I find the peace that I know this Season is supposed to be about.