The 365 Days of Christmas........

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future.  The Spirits of all three shall strive within me.  I will not shut out the lessons they teach." as spoken by Ebenezer Scrooge courtesy of Charles Dickens in "A Christmas Carol".

I love the feeling of this time of year. I watched a clip from the "Honeymooners" where Ralph Kramden talks about how people seem happier during the holidays (google it.....it is worth the watch).

It always make me sad when it is time to put everything away for another year.  Due to heading back to work Tuesday, we took the decorations down yesterday.  The house always looks so bare and dull.

Last year,  I toyed with the idea of keeping the big tree up all year,  I was quite surprised at how many people said "do it!".  Since we sold the house in August, I guess I was right to pack it up around New Year's Day.  I don't think a Christmas tree on display would have been a big selling point while the house was on the market.

So here I sit on a new location and once again I was trying to decide.....keep it up or put it away?? In the end, I caved and the tree is now packed away.  Since I do not know many people in my new location, I felt keeping the big tree up might seem strange as I invite new neighbors into my home. It would require me explaining that I am a writer and I wanted to write about what it is like to have my Christmas tree up for 365 days if not more.

I did decide to leave out the small ceramic tree in my bedroom.  I will light it each night and fall asleep to the glow of the small bulbs.  Maybe next year for the big tree......we will see.

While packing away the decorations, I really took a lot of time examining the ornaments that hung on the tree.  In November, I had gone through the four tubs...yes, four tubs of ornaments trying to decide which should go on the tree and which would just stay packed away.  I didn't pray over each ornament when I was deciding if it was going to make the cut or spend Christmas still packed away.  Ornaments such as the Popsicle reindeer Jenn made in kindergarten stayed in the tub along with the pine cone decorated with glitter or any of the family ornaments that were bought when there were three of us.

As I examined each ornament last night, I started taking pictures of the ones that best describe me and saw a recurring them and you could definitely tell my likes, desires and dreams.

When you are putting up the tree you might talk about an ornament here or there that brings back a memory but I didn't really take the time to examine and think about why some were chosen over others.  As I packed them away, it became infinitely clear why I made my choices. I think you will agree as I share them with you......

My loves:

love lighthouses

of course cheese made the list

My dreams:

more time to write....get published??

My Realities:

My goals for next year:

well maybe not this dress but continued focus on improved health, weight and exercise

self-explanatory

And then there's Jenn....to push me, encourage me and kick my butt when needed......

I am going to try and be like Scrooge after the visits from the 3 Spirits.....I am going to work to keep Christmas in my heart not just from Thanksgiving through Christmas but all the year through.  I have seen dreams come true this year and Chapter Three finally in action.  I have also felt the pain of endings and am seeking peace in my decisions. 

Merry Christmas!!! I really have until January 6th (Little Christmas) to say this and still be in the season......also now I can say it since I am going to try and feel it everyday (thank you Mr. Dickens!!).

As 2017 ends, I think I have come out of this year a better person than I was when the year started.

Happy New Year!!!!

I hope that 2018 brings all of you good health, much happiness and love.....for in the end isn't love all that matters??

See you next week....or maybe tomorrow as we start a new book with 12 chapters and 365 pages.....

Moving forward while looking backward......

A few weeks ago I wrote about embracing my new location on Saint Helena's Island, SC......

Last night,  we went to the Boat Parade at the Waterfront Park in Beaufort. The weather was prefect as we sat and watched the sailboats  decorated with lights pass by one by one.

This morning, we dropped off gifts for the Santa Lunch held nearby.  The lunch is for the children of military deployed from Parris Island and the Marine Air Corp Station. We were greeted by people wearing Santa hats and Elf hats.  They so appreciated the toys we donated for both girls and boys.  We shouted "Merry Christmas" as we drove away.

Later on we were heading into town, a police motorcade with lights and sirens blaring passed in the other direction.  I was trying to figure out what was going on.  Then I noticed many of the cars in the procession had Marine Corp decals and decorative plates on them.  Then it hit me.......it was a motorcade to take the children to their Christmas lunch. Yes, of course I started to cry....I couldn't help it.

I was also lucky enough to have my friend, Mary, spend the weekend with us.  We stayed up late talking and were up early talking (see a running them here??).  We baked, we shopped and we laughed.....it was so much fun!!

I took her to see the alligators and the landfill...LOL....no reason not to see it all !!!!

While doing all this moving ahead....there is still a lot that pulls me back in time.

As I wrote last week, we did some baking.  This weekend we baked again using the old family cookie recipes.  Guess what we are doing next weekend?? You got it .......baking......(yes to my family...your cookies will be out in the mail a week from tomorrow).

My nephew completed his project of restoring the village my parents had under their Christmas tree starting back around 1955.  To see it looking brand new with all of its parts back in place was just wonderful.

I have been spending more time in my living room enjoying the lights on the tree, remembering when each ornament was purchased and wrap myself in memories of the wonderful holiday seasons past. Yesterday, I was up early and sat in my recliner in the living room covered in a blanket and enjoyed the tree lights just before dawn.......it is hard to find the words to describe how I felt sitting alone enjoying the beauty of the lighted tree.....

Just three short weeks to my favorite day of the year!!!

Jenn has asked a few times if there is anything I would like for Christmas and I guess like most of us as we get older the list of material wants shrinks and the list of desires grows (time with family, time to relax, time with friends and time for ourselves to do with whatever we wish......see the running theme here??....time). I am sure I will come up with a few gift ideas such as the 2018 Writers Guide (hint, hint Jenn).

But as I sit here and look at the lights from my tree in the living room and can very clearly see Jenn's 3 foot Griswold tree ( 9 feet of garland on a 3 foot tree??), a poinsettia blooming beautifully on a table......I feel a sense of peace.

Embracing the past, the present and the future.......that is what I am trying to do.......looking back at great memories and with a little sadness........enjoying the new experiences of the present which make me step out of my comfort zone........and looking to the future with hope, excitement  and may be just a little trepidation......no turning back now......backward is not the way I am heading......

See you next week.......