Merry and bright, part 2

Christmas Morning.

Two things:

1.  Nat and I were the first ones up.  Sat and had coffee together in a quiet house.  Not sure if this means we are doing something very right as parents, or very wrong.

2.  After opening one tree present each, the kids happily played with said presents for a good 15 minutes.  Next year, we should stop at one.

But this year, we didn't.  There was an overabundance of gifts and excitement and we had two very fried children by noon.

And you know, I wouldn't have it any other way.

A couple of the favorite gifts-- Ivy's creepy monkey, and the Boogie Board drawing board.

A quiet afternoon (part of which was spent driving to Auburn, again, for "C" batteries for Ivy's creepy monkey) and then off to Christmas dinner.   Eleven adults, eleven children, a house full of merry and a yummy dinner.   So grateful to be a part of this family.

A quiet 26th, with half-price shopping at Target (one of our proudest traditions) and visiting in Ithaca, and one more family dinner and a gift exchange with the cousins.... and like that, in a wink, Christmas had come and gone and we were heading home.  A treasure of a week.

Some other moments from the trip:

A snowy and cold Christmas visit to Long Point.

Corydon and Mia had a competition to see who could be most in the way.  At all times.  Life with dogs:  priceless.

Note the creepy monkey.  Its eyes follow you.

Look!  MORE presents!

We capped off the trip with a quick visit to the Rink at Wade Oval once we got home (but before we even went to the house) so our boy could try his new ice skates.

May god bless you and send you a happy new year, friends!

Merry and bright

We have been reveling in the glow of Christmas around here lately.

And, swimming madly to keep up with the rush of it all. A glorious, rich and beautiful rush indeed, but one that has left little time for breathing, much less keeping up with a blog.

Apologies.

Our Christmas, in pictures. And probably plenty of words too, because I can't help myself.

Glow at the Gardens

In the midst of my last week of school, while packing and wrapping madly, we managed to squeeze in a trip to the Gardens, dressed in our best, for the magic of Glow.  We missed Member's Night this year and found it all to be not quite the same... perhaps it's the free cookies and cocoa that make the night? Regardless, we enjoyed ourselves.  The gingerbread houses were magnificent, the darkened glasshouses were full of mystic beauty, and the tour of the garden by train was crispy-cold and snowy.  Hopefully next year they'll bring back the magical winter-wind room at the entrance to the glasshouses.  And Santa.  And the free cookies. No making me happy, is there?

 And then-- off to Aurora!  We left on the first day of vacation so the preparations were fast and furious, trying to have Christmas at the ready, 4 days in advance.  But the payoff were three relaxing days in NY, cousin time and family dinners and even time for shoe shopping at the outlet malls.  Good times.

We had dinner with Randy and his family every night but one.  I could get used to having so much time with them.

December 22nd: A day at the Science Center for the 5 with Lulu (and a few hours off enjoying 67 degree weather in Ithaca for Nat and I) followed by dinner at Wegmans, and then a sketchy meet up in the Cortland WalMart parking lot to buy a used Wii for Christmas morning.  What a day!

Jack is ready for guitar lessons now.

Decorating the tree at Lulu's

Cookie baking.  With 5 young children.  Wonderful madness.

These 5 are so good together.

Marring the perfection of our visit was the fact that poor Claire came down with pneumonia.  A doubly difficult illness for such an energetic woman-- especially at this time of year.  On the 24th we found ourselves with two energetic little ones and a tired Lulu who needed some alone time to rest.  So we went off to Bass Pro in Auburn,  thinking we'd just look at the fish and wander a bit... and we walked right in to an "only in America" winter wonderland complete with kid-friendly shooting ranges, camo-themed decor, and a wonderfully authentic Santa to visit (even Jack wanted to see him-- first time ever!)  No crowds, lots of dogs, fish-feeding demonstrations and free stuff.  It was a perfectly wonderful morning made all the better by the surprise.

 Then suddenly, it was Christmas Eve.  Time for the magic.  Traditional clam chowder supper, church with the Morehouse clan in Union Springs, then home to open Christmas PJ's and set out carefully labeled stockings and milk and cookies.  A surprise visit from another Santa rounded out the evening (Ivy noted that the second one was definitely the real one, because of the high heeled boots).

Anticipation.  My favorite moment of the year.  

And you get to anticipate the next post...  Christmas day to come!

Light

We've had a wonderful snow this weekend, winter-wonderland white coating branches and rooftops, the world softened, all the hard edges rounded off a bit.    Just enough snow to make the world beautiful, not enough to make the road impassable.  So, perfect.    And a perfect backdrop for all the lights.

Yesterday we reveled in winter from start to finish.  The children woke us at 7:30 to greet the snowy day and by 10:00 we were out sledding at Coventry Park, having already swept and mopped all the floors in the house.  The day was cold and the snow falling steadily and we had the hill to ourselves for a good 30 minutes.

  Ivy discovered that she loves to sled backwards many snow angels were made, and peanut butter sandwiches were eaten outdoors (isn't it always time for a picnic) before we headed over to the Centrum for to kick off the Coventry Winter Festival by watching Elf.  (Ivy's says her favorite part was when Buddy the Elf pulled down his yellow tights... and then pulled them back up).   Then, a walk down the street to do some crafts and hear a poetry reading at Piccadilly-- and eat yogurt too, of course!  Jack, who has entered a "craft phase" in his life, was disappointed to only make one craft at the festival, so we rested at home by decorating our gingerbread house.  A quick social call from the Burton's, enjoying the glow of our own festive living room, then off to a birthday party at the Little Gym.  Hanging out with our college friends, laughing and eating pizza... to the backdrop of our beautiful children climbing and balancing and leaping about.

I am not sure a day could get much better.

Driving home in the snowy dark of a winter evening, lights glowed everywhere we looked.  Curtains left open to show off the Christmas tree gave snapshot glimpses into the lives inside the houses we passed.   Moment in time, framed:  A mother dancing her baby next to the tree, a family sitting down to eat, a couple watching TV.  Contentment glowed out of each room.  

May every day be so full of light.

Enough

Last night was it, the night Christmas Desolation set in.  It happens every year, this moment, though it manages to surprise me each time.  It is a disorienting sensation of emptiness in a time that is full, darkness amid all the lights.  It is a sad and lonely and rather whiny thing, this Christmas Desolation,  usually triggered by a series of of small annoyances which, when contrasted with the gaiety, ribbons and joy of the season, suddenly seem cataclysmic.

Last night, I found myself mired in these: the dog has a rash and the furnace is misbehaving; my students have been oppositional and my children, demanding: the dishes are piled in the sink, there are 6 loads of laundry to fold, the floors are dirty and I haven't done a lick of schoolwork tonight; the days are fleeting and I just don't have any really good presents for anyone this year.

Yeah, I know.  But sometimes its the little things that tangle you up, you know?

Then, Nat and I watched an episode of "Louie".  For those unfamiliar with the show, its the story of a dour-faced stand-up comedian in his 40's, living a pretty mundane life in NYC.  It's irreverent and raunchy and really very funny, but not usually profound.  Last night's episode, though-- it was downright heartwarming.  Louie discovered the beauty of good neighbors, taught his kids about fairness, and told a lot of jokes along the way.

And there was this one line, spoken to the 4 year old daughter who was jealous of her sister:

 "The only time you should look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure they have enough."

And that got me.

To make sure they have enough.  Not to see if they have more.  Not to see if their floors are cleaner, their decorations more stunning, their gifts more impressive.

Just to see if they have enough.

This holiday season-- its been sneaky, arriving so fast, life all in a rush around it.  Hardly time to clean or breathe, much less shop.  Much less root around in my purse for change to put in the bell-ringer's bucket.  Or pull out the coats I've been meaning to donate.  Or spare a moment's thought for my neighbor's bowl.

There is a child in Jack's classroom who does not have any winter boots.  Whose family just got their heat turned back on two weeks ago.  There is not enough in their bowl.

There is enough in mine to share.

I don't mean for this to be a depressing post.  Stopping to think about the caring I've not been doing, the kindnesses I've not had time for-- somehow that is the cure for Christmas Desolation.  Amid the lights and the ribbons and the gaiety and the rush of the season there is emptiness, darkness much more real than my small litany of complaints.

But there is also the chance to do something about it. And there is time to slow down and try.

Time to refocus.  Time to see all the light.  Time to do my best to spread it.

__________________________________________


And in the meantime,  some pictures for you.  This time, rewinding to the week before Thanksgiving, while Nat was out of town at the AAR conference-- a wonderful meet-up at the History museum, lunch out in Little Italy, and hosting Greg for the afternoon.  Three crazy kids squeezed into a Hyundai!  And these two big boys, such friends, playing so well together.  A grand day.

And, the day after Thanksgiving.  First snow of the season = first sled of the season.  Never mind that they were sledding on grass.  It was slippery grass and that's all that matters.  The girl can pull her own sled back up the hill now.  If that doesn't make her seem grown up, I don't know what will...

Shortly after sledding, Nat and I ran off for a short getaway at a cottage in Mansfield.  Actually, I kidnapped Nat, surprising him with the secretly planned trip for his birthday.  It was a ton of  fun-- the secret planning, and the time away as "just us".  We rather like "just us."  And nice dinners out and thrift shopping and exploring a new place together.  Lucky us.

We decorated for Christmas that weekend, and had a cozy evening with friends amongst the stockings and garland and Christmas music.. which yielded this moment:

Christmas kisses.  I love these children.

Finally, a sneak peek at Christmas photos 2013.  Cards to come!  Sometime.  :)