Protecting peace: a recipe for successful holiday visits
Keith and I enjoyed a lovely, quiet Christmas celebration this year because we focused on protecting peace. We’d learned from the successful visit to family for Grandparents Day to take our time, maintain our own space, ask family for help, define family time so we...
A Christmas Carol Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, Yet to come
During Advent, Keith and I watch holiday shows, many of which are iterations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Each “ghost” makes me think of my own experiences and what they taught me. Dickens’ story...
Little acts of kindness and love, the best portions of our lives
"The best portion of a good man's life: his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” William Wordsworth Friday’s snow ten days ago was followed by last Monday’s storm, each accumulation of snow at four inches. Tuesday Bible study...
On cold wintry days, part of me wants to hibernate
Hibernate, verb. Definition 1: of an animal or plant that spends the winter in a dormant state. Similar: sleep, overwinter, hole up. Definition 2: of a person who remains inactive or indoors for an extended period of time. Last Tuesday, as we woke to cold rain and...
Visioning grace, as Thanksgiving leads into Advent and Christmas
When Keith’s brother-in-law said grace before the family’s Thanksgiving feast, I couldn’t help but think of three other Thanksgiving families: my first-stage-of-life growing up family, the second-stage-of-life family with my children, and my third-stage-of-life...
Trees and wind and knots and fruit yielded in season
Here in the third season at Vanaprastha, the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves. Now that the winds have stilled, I will blow the debris from ditches and culverts along the road. It’s a task I enjoy, participating in the cycle of life. I cannot remember a...