Christmas came and went like the scent of pine on our drying tree. This morning holds a return to chores (clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere!) and a bit of work for all. The holiday spirit lingers in the list of thank you notes we have to write - so grateful for family and friends who thought of us - and in the beautiful memories of our candle-lit Christmas Eve service and the hugs exchanged by the children after meaningful gifts. When William and Daniel embraced in the hallway to celebrate William's passing-down of all childhood Legos to Daniel, and they promised to share the collection between their children, my throat swelled and eyes filled with tears of thankfulness for the rare bonding moment.
Candlelight singing in unison, gratitude and love, feeling as one with all those celebrating - not only Christmas but every light-filled and reverent holiday - that buoys my spirit and encourages hope to grow that our country can still overcome what divides us. If my boys can share a blissful morning then surely it's possibly for just about any two sides to pack in their differences and work on coming together.
My favorite Christmas hymn, "O Holy Night," expresses my deepest wish for unity in beautiful, poetic lyrics written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. A wine merchant by trade, de Roquemaure was asked by his parish priest to write something for Christmas, and the spirit must have been with Placide, for his words have inspired for 180 years. Here are a few lines that always hit me hard:
"Long lay the world in in and error pining,
Till He appeared and the Soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."
A weary world indeed. Our souls craving to know their worth in a social media, picture-perfect society. Dare we to hope that a new and glorious morning awaits us?
And then verse three, which never fails to make me cry. If we sing this in church I'm a soggy mess:
"Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease."
It should be our national anthem.
My New Year' resolution for 2019 is to live out the words of this hymn. To hear the stories of those I meet with respect for our differences and an honest desire to understand. To share what I believe with honest courage and to carry the unity of Christmas into the next few months despite headlines and headaches that are sure to come. His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Family Moab
In Arches National Park
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Grasping at Peace
This past week has been a mixed bag: I stretched my hamstrings and low back overenthusiastically and woke up the next morning unable to move. Getting out of bed was an Olympian feat and entering the car a nearly impossible one. I had to resort to sliding in with my derriere on the steering wheel, the slowly rotating to the left so I could sit in a more appropriate driving position. After two visits to acupuncture, one to massage and one to the chiropractor, my back judged that I'd spent enough money on it and relaxed enough for me to resume most normal activities.
We (meaning "me") also decided to have tile and paint work done this week, so our washer and dryer currently rest in the front entryway, while our downstairs toilet and much of the wood trim lie outside the mudroom door in a state of tipsy abandon. We're just like Clark Griswold's cousin's family, keepin' it really real at Christmas. Aden threw a string of white lights over the laundry combo to make it more festive and help it to blend with the tree.
But thankfully the weather holds steady at 50 and sunny, so the toilet can rest outside and not in the living room. And when the work is done it will be a nice Christmas present - assuming we can safely return the washer and dryer to their normal location. Rob is working from home this week, helping to keep the cats away from the contractor (and open doors) and coming with me to Daniel's choir concert and other kid activities. I was able to connect with old friends early in the week on two lovely walks which provided the dual blessings of companionship and the only exercise my back would tolerate.
The older kids are lumbering to the end of finals on Thursday and I'm praying to be mobile enough to put the house back together when the work is done, and then it's time to rest for a few days and grasp at the peace that comes with Christmas.
We (meaning "me") also decided to have tile and paint work done this week, so our washer and dryer currently rest in the front entryway, while our downstairs toilet and much of the wood trim lie outside the mudroom door in a state of tipsy abandon. We're just like Clark Griswold's cousin's family, keepin' it really real at Christmas. Aden threw a string of white lights over the laundry combo to make it more festive and help it to blend with the tree.
But thankfully the weather holds steady at 50 and sunny, so the toilet can rest outside and not in the living room. And when the work is done it will be a nice Christmas present - assuming we can safely return the washer and dryer to their normal location. Rob is working from home this week, helping to keep the cats away from the contractor (and open doors) and coming with me to Daniel's choir concert and other kid activities. I was able to connect with old friends early in the week on two lovely walks which provided the dual blessings of companionship and the only exercise my back would tolerate.
The older kids are lumbering to the end of finals on Thursday and I'm praying to be mobile enough to put the house back together when the work is done, and then it's time to rest for a few days and grasp at the peace that comes with Christmas.
Monday, December 10, 2018
Moving Heavy Furniture
I assembled the Christmas cards this weekend with mingled emotions. Excitement about reaching out to friends and family living far away, sorrow over modifying names and addresses for splits or losses, and bewilderment over addressing and stamping a horde of white envelopes destined for friends living within a square mile of us. Despite close proximity to neighbors and dear friends of fourteen years, a stamp is required to get the card into their mailbox and the short update note is a must because we haven't seen many of these folks over the last year or two. The crazy busy-ness that plagues our lives - especially in December - means that friends living one street over have no idea where Aden applied to school or that William now drives (cautiously and with a permit).
In early days when kids were play-date and preschool-bound, our mothers' groups, rec league basketball games,drink nights, book clubs, running groups and church studies filled parents' days or evenings and kept us sane. Now that the kids are easier, we somehow interact much less. I still have drink nights, book clubs and neighborhood fellowships on my calendar but can rarely get to them due to carpools and meets, kid concerns and sheer fatigue. (See gratitude over our breakthrough on Thanksgiving, entry from November.)
Another sign of time passing - our use of the app TaskRabbit where before we could have just called on friends. For example, we need our large washer and dryer moved before we re-tile the entryway next week. I asked around, wondering if some friends (or their large teenage sons) might be able to help, and heard the following concerns: "carpal tunnel, recently repaired shoulder, bad back, bad knee." I completely sympathize since Rob and I have similar physical restraints. We have no wish for anyone to end up in the ER this close to Christmas! And so we rent the job out to a qualified stranger, when two decades ago we would have done it ourselves and one decade ago we would have had a party of friends to help.
But despite the changes, aging and busy-ness, we still share connections and by hook or by crook will still give and get our updates. I hear that life calms down in the next decade, when perhaps we can get back to drinks and debates, if not moving heavy furniture.
In early days when kids were play-date and preschool-bound, our mothers' groups, rec league basketball games,drink nights, book clubs, running groups and church studies filled parents' days or evenings and kept us sane. Now that the kids are easier, we somehow interact much less. I still have drink nights, book clubs and neighborhood fellowships on my calendar but can rarely get to them due to carpools and meets, kid concerns and sheer fatigue. (See gratitude over our breakthrough on Thanksgiving, entry from November.)
Another sign of time passing - our use of the app TaskRabbit where before we could have just called on friends. For example, we need our large washer and dryer moved before we re-tile the entryway next week. I asked around, wondering if some friends (or their large teenage sons) might be able to help, and heard the following concerns: "carpal tunnel, recently repaired shoulder, bad back, bad knee." I completely sympathize since Rob and I have similar physical restraints. We have no wish for anyone to end up in the ER this close to Christmas! And so we rent the job out to a qualified stranger, when two decades ago we would have done it ourselves and one decade ago we would have had a party of friends to help.
But despite the changes, aging and busy-ness, we still share connections and by hook or by crook will still give and get our updates. I hear that life calms down in the next decade, when perhaps we can get back to drinks and debates, if not moving heavy furniture.
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Poking the Bear of Hope, or Lighting the Darkness
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."
- Helen Keller
I swore several blog posts ago to write only about positive things, but realize that might be the reason for my infrequent entries. Writing has the most value when it comes from an authentic place, and though my mind wants to focus on the positive my heart aches over recent news. The government's climate report warns of hard times ahead, for us and especially for our children. The treatment of climate and war refugees on our borders strains credulity. And as Hanukkah begins, I think of last month's anti-Semitic actions - rising from no reason but from primitive, propaganda-fed places.
How do we acknowledge our authentic grief and still strive for hope, lighting candles in the dark places and trying to re-imagine a future that holds every potential for our children? My spiritual guide, Dominie, read me the Helen Keller quote (above), to remind me that more possibilities and perspectives exist than just the grim headlines. For every dire prediction springing from the headlines or from the panicked places in my own mind, I can respond with this: "That's one way to look at it."
Dominie's words poked me, woke the bear of hope from a brief hibernation, and encouraged me to remember that the dark and troubled view is not the only view, and immense capabilities for healing exist.
Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, Christmas - all these celebrate illumination. We can acknowledge our struggles while turning toward the light and becoming a light for others. Our communal hopes will feed us, fuel imaginings of a bright tomorrow, if we can share them authentically along with our grief.
- Helen Keller
I swore several blog posts ago to write only about positive things, but realize that might be the reason for my infrequent entries. Writing has the most value when it comes from an authentic place, and though my mind wants to focus on the positive my heart aches over recent news. The government's climate report warns of hard times ahead, for us and especially for our children. The treatment of climate and war refugees on our borders strains credulity. And as Hanukkah begins, I think of last month's anti-Semitic actions - rising from no reason but from primitive, propaganda-fed places.
How do we acknowledge our authentic grief and still strive for hope, lighting candles in the dark places and trying to re-imagine a future that holds every potential for our children? My spiritual guide, Dominie, read me the Helen Keller quote (above), to remind me that more possibilities and perspectives exist than just the grim headlines. For every dire prediction springing from the headlines or from the panicked places in my own mind, I can respond with this: "That's one way to look at it."
Dominie's words poked me, woke the bear of hope from a brief hibernation, and encouraged me to remember that the dark and troubled view is not the only view, and immense capabilities for healing exist.
Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, Christmas - all these celebrate illumination. We can acknowledge our struggles while turning toward the light and becoming a light for others. Our communal hopes will feed us, fuel imaginings of a bright tomorrow, if we can share them authentically along with our grief.
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