Right Now

Right now, I'm loving...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...Christmas, and all it's giving, loving, feasting, and merry-making. We are in recovery mode now, and with a gray day to keep us all slow-moving and home, we're doing great. Happy Winter.

Christmas, We Are Ready!

It goes without saying that this week has been consumed by preparations- preparations for our first Solstice celebration, preparations for four big holiday meals, preparations for the gift exchanges we'll be wrapped up in (ahahaa, ahem), and preparations for the travel and the nights away from home that come with all the festivities.

I could lament the process, but I'm pretty sure everyone is going through the same thing, so I'll just comfort myself with the feeling of standing on common ground...

 

With all the flurry and fuss going on around us, it would be all-too-easy to actually loose track of what's going on around us...

...and that's why we chose to celebrate the Winter Solstice this year. I could really work your ear (or in this instance, your eyes) with details about the 'why' behind Solstice celebrations, but instead, I'll just recommend this book and encourage anyone whose parenting style gravitates toward the Waldorf-esque to look in to the traditions around this time of year that so many of us take for granted, or maybe have even forgotten the origins of...? It really awakens a fresh appreciation for the things we now so immediately associate with Christmas.

After reading and researching for months about Solstice celebrations, we decided that for our family, a celebration to bring us together, connect us to our natural environment, slow us all down at the climax of the seasonal rush, and give us one more day of magic and wonder was the ticket (it's actually a little overwhelming to see the different ways people- past and present- celebrate the Winter Solstice, once you start looking!). For our first Solstice, that meant greenery, a feast, a fire, lots of candlelight, and a few gifts for the babes. It was beautiful, and just what we needed to kick off this merry marathon.

Preparing our Solstice Feast

Our Solstice Bag, made from fabric scraps, holder of Solstice Jammies and- this year- a new book

Oh, the lists, the piles, the packing, the prepping! It took most of the week, but now I can say: Christmas, we are ready!

In order to be truly present in the oncoming holiday whirlwind, 

I will be wishing all a Merry Christmas, 

and will be back in this space again on Monday!

Merry Christmas!

Right Now

Right now, I'm loving...

How naturally and easily my babies play by themselves and with each other

Reminding myself that, despite the holiday rush, it is still autumn... at least for a few more days

Taking moments to breathe and just be

I've been reflecting on this crazy time of year recently, and I've been chewing on a persistent, tantalizing thought: Maybe one of the reasons why some people find themselves out-of-sorts around the holidays is because civilized society on the whole has become out-of-sorts with the rhythm of the natural world around them. As the earth seems to slow down, turn inward, and begin preparations for the cold slumber of winter, the commercial world around us seems to ramp up, become more hectic and chaotic, and starts slamming us with BUYBUYBUYBAKETRAVELSOCIALIZE! 

To keep pace with our neighbors, we pack more and more into our schedules, despite our internal calendars telling us to slow down, find peace, and move slowly through our days. I think this internal discord can play a big part in an empty, let-down feeling after the holidays and celebrations pass. Almost like you've been cheated out of something, and you almost feel... jaded? Bummed? Spent? All might be true if all of your energy has been spent beating out a forced rhythm against the natural pace around you. 

Something I've also found to be true about myself: the more I pack into the holiday rush (planning, prepping, doing), the faster it seems to go by, and the more abruptly and profoundly I feel it's absence in the aftermath. Sadly, that's part of adulthood, and maybe that's why our childhood memories seem to know no time, and memories of recent seem to have been made in the blink of an eye. 

As I chew this over, I'm also consistently drawn to a simple conclusion (it is easier said than done, but worth saying multiple times): the effort spent in slowing down, clearing mental schedules, and focusing on a few moments daily, to feel present amidst it all, is well worth it. 

And so on this, the beginning of Christmas week, may we all redirect just a wee bit of that frantic energy into a moment here or there that can be soaked up and remembered in childhood time, and treasured always. Happy Monday.

It Has Begun...

This weekend, in my kitchen, the Holiday Baking began... and we had fun.